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Review
Nature 424, 901-908 (21 August 2003) | doi:10.1038/nature01843
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Professor of Microscopy (W2)
- Friedrich-Schiller-University
- Jena Germany
Postdoctoral Position
- Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19111
The role of stomata in sensing and driving environmental change
Alistair M. Hetherington1 & F. Ian Woodward2
Abstract
Stomata, the small pores on the surfaces of leaves and stalks, regulate the flow of gases in and out of leaves and thus plants as a whole. They adapt to local and global changes on all timescales from minutes to millennia. Recent data from diverse fields are establishing their central importance to plant physiology, evolution and global ecology. Stomatal morphology, distribution and behaviour respond to a spectrum of signals, from intracellular signalling to global climatic change. Such concerted adaptation results from a web of control systems, reminiscent of a 'scale-free' network, whose untangling requires integrated approaches beyond those currently used.
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