Maize root mucilage alters stomatal responses to soil and atmospheric drought: Implications for plant water use

Plants respond to soil and atmospheric water deficits through strategies such as stomatal regulation and belowground adaptations. Root mucilage buffers erratic fluctuations in the rhizosphere water content, yet its influence on soil hydraulic properties, especially unsaturated hydraulic conductivity, and stomatal regulation remains unknown. We hypothesized that mucilage facilitates water uptake by attenuating the drop in matric potential at the root-soil interface during soil and atmospheric drying. We measured the impact of various maize (Zea mays) mucilage contents (0.0%, 0.05%, 0.2%, and 0.4%) on the water retention and hydraulic conductivity of a loamy soil. Leveraging a soil-plant hydraulic model, we investigated the effects of mucilage contents on transpiration and stomatal responses under soil drying and increased vapor pressure deficit (VPD). Higher mucilage contents prevented sharp declines in unsaturated hydraulic conductivity as soils dried. Simulations revealed that higher mucilage contents delayed the onset of hydraulic stress (the threshold transpiration rate beyond which a small increase in transpiration would result in a disproportionate decline in leaf water potential), broadened the hydroscape zone, and shifted stomatal behavior from isohydric to more anisohydric regulation, enabling plants to sustain stable transpiration and lower midday leaf water potentials under drought. The buffering effects on soil-plant hydraulics persisted across varying degrees of VPD, although high mucilage contents accelerated soil drying, indicating a trade-off between improved water uptake and faster moisture depletion during prolonged drought. Our findings underscore the important role of mucilage in modulating soil-plant water relations and stomatal regulation, offering insights into strategies for improving plant responses to soil and atmospheric drought.