The Imaging of Guard Cells of () Mutants of Arabidopsis Further Links Plant Chemical Defence Systems with Physical Defence Barriers.

The glucosinolate-myrosinase system is a well-known plant chemical defence system. Two functional myrosinase-encoding genes, THIOGLUCOSIDASE 1 () and THIOGLUCOSIDASE 2 (), express in aerial tissues of Arabidopsis. expresses in guard cells (GCs) and is also a highly abundant protein in GCs. Recently, by studying wild type (WT), single, and double mutants, we showed a novel association between the glucosinolate-myrosinase system defence system, and a physical barrier, the cuticle. In the current study, using imaging techniques, we further analysed stomata and ultrastructure of GCs of WT, , single, and double mutants. The mutants showed distinctive features of GCs. The GCs of and mutants showed vacuoles that had less electron-dense granular material. Both single mutants had bigger stomata complexes. The WT and mutants also showed variations for cell wall, chloroplasts, and starch grains of GCs. Abscisic acid (ABA)-treated stomata showed that the stomatal aperture was reduced in single and double mutants. The data provides a basis to perform comprehensive further studies to find physiological and molecular mechanisms associated with ultrastructure differences in mutants. We speculate that the absence of myrosinase alters the endogenous chemical composition, hence affecting the physical structure of plants and the plants' physical defence barriers.