Chlorella induces stomatal closure via NADPH oxidase-dependent ROS production and its effects on instantaneous water...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been established to participate in stomatal closure induced by live microbes and microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs). Chlorella as a beneficial microorganism can be expected to trigger stomatal closure via ROS production. Here, we reported that Chlorella induced stomatal closure in a dose-and time-dependent manner in epidermal peels of Vicia faba. Using pharmacological methods in this work, we found that the Chlorella-induced stomatal closure was almost completely abolished by a hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) scavenger, catalase (CAT), significantly suppressed by an NADPH oxidase inhibitor, diphenylene iodonium chloride (DPI), and slightly affected by a peroxidase inhibitor, salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM), suggesting that ROS production involved in Chlorella-induced stomatal closure is mainly mediated by DPI-sensitive NADPH oxidase. Additionally, Exogenous application of optimal concentrations of Chlorella suspension improved instantaneous water use efficiency (WUEi) in Vicia faba via a reduction in leaf transpiration rate (E) without a parallel reduction in net photosynthetic rate (Pn) assessed by gas-exchange measurements. The chlorophyll fluorescence and content analysis further demonstrated that short-term use of Chlorella did not influence plant photosynthetic reactions center. These results preliminarily reveal that Chlorella can trigger stomatal closure via NADPH oxidase-dependent ROS production in epidermal strips and improve WUEi in leave levels.