Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 20, 2026

Image-Based Methods to Study Membrane Trafficking Events in Stomatal Lineage Cells
Published on: May 12, 2023
Mix-and-match: ligand-receptor pairs in stomatal development and beyond
1Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. ktorii@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
Stomata are small valves on the plant epidermis balancing gas exchange and water loss. Stomata are formed according to positional cues. In Arabidopsis, two EPIDERMAL PATTERNING FACTOR (EPF) peptides, EPF1 and EPF2, are secreted from stomatal precursors enforcing proper stomatal patterning. Here, I review recent studies revealing the ligand-receptor pairs and revising the previously predicted relations between receptors specifying stomatal patterning: ERECTA-family and TOO MANY MOUTHS (TMM). Furthermore, EPF-LIKE9 (EPFL9/Stomagen) promotes stomatal differentiation from internal tissues. Two EPFL peptides specify inflorescence architecture, a process beyond stomatal development, as ligands for ERECTA. Thus, broadly expressed receptor kinases may regulate multiple developmental processes through perceiving different peptide ligands, each with a specialized expression pattern. TMM in the epidermis may fine-tune multiple EPF/EPFL signals to prevent signal interference.
Related Concept Videos
Cell Signaling in Plants
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
Ligand Binding and Linkage
Ligand Binding and Linkage
Morphogenesis
Ligand Binding Sites
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...

