2024/06/24 by Jinghan Su, B.-Y. He, Li Pei-Yuan +9 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Plant Stress Responses and Tolerance #Plant Molecular Biology Research #Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism
paper · doi:10.1111/jipb.13721
openalex publication_date 2024/06/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
ABSTRACT Stomata play a crucial role in plants by controlling water status and responding to drought stress. However, simultaneously improving stomatal opening and drought tolerance has proven to be a significant challenge. To address this issue, we employed the OnGuard quantitative model, which accurately represents the mechanics and coordination of ion transporters in guard cells. With the guidance of OnGuard, we successfully engineered plants that overexpressed the main tonoplast Ca 2+ ‐ATPase gene, ACA11 , which promotes stomatal opening and enhances plant growth. Surprisingly, these transgenic plants also exhibited improved drought tolerance due to reduced water loss through their stomata. Again, OnGuard assisted us in understanding the mechanism behind the unexpected stomatal behaviors observed in the ACA11 overexpressing plants. Our study revealed that the overexpression of ACA11 facilitated the accumulation of Ca 2+ in the vacuole, thereby influencing Ca 2+ storage and leading to an enhanced Ca 2+ elevation in response to abscisic acid. This regulatory cascade finely tunes stomatal responses, ultimately leading to enhanced drought tolerance. Our findings underscore the importance of tonoplast Ca 2+ ‐ATPase in manipulating stomatal behavior and improving drought tolerance. Furthermore, these results highlight the diverse functions of tonoplast‐localized ACA11 in response to different conditions, emphasizing its potential for future applications in plant enhancement.