Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 11, 2026

Identification of the Genes Involved in Stomatal Development via Epidermal Phenotype Scoring
Published on: January 20, 2023
Genetic encoding of climate-responsive stomatal developmental plasticity in tomato
Ido Nir1,2, Alanta Budrys3,4, Daniel Suraev2
1Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Abstract:
Flexible developmental programs enable plants to customize their organ size and cellular composition. In leaves of eudicots, the stomatal lineage produces two essential cell types, stomata and pavement cells, and plants can adjust the total numbers and ratios of these cell types in response to external cues. Central to this flexibility is the stomatal lineage-initiating transcription factor, SPEECHLESS (SPCH). Here we explore the mechanisms underlying SPCH's involvement in environmental response. Using multiplexed CRISPR/Cas9 editing of SlSPCH cis-regulatory sequences in tomato, we identified variants with altered stomatal development responses to drought, light and temperature cues. By creating and live-cell tracking translational reporters of SlSPCH and its paralogues SlMUTE and SlFAMA, we revealed the corresponding cellular events that lead to the environmental change-driven responses in stomatal production and leaf form. Plants bearing the novel reporters and SlSPCH variants are powerful resources for fundamental and applied studies of tomato resilience in response to climate change.
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Transpiration by Stomata
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress
Transcription
Transcription is the process of synthesizing RNA from a DNA sequence by RNA polymerase. It is the first step in producing a protein from a gene sequence. Additionally, many other proteins and regulatory sequences are involved in the proper synthesis of messenger RNA (mRNA). Regulation of transcription is responsible for the differentiation of all the different types of cells and often for the proper cellular response to environmental signals.
Transcription Can Produce Different Kinds...
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Responses to Salt Stress
Morphogenesis

