Guard cells in albino leaf patches do not respond to photosynthetically active radiation, but are sensitive to blue light, CO2 and abscisic acid
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Würzburg physiologists impaled single guard cells with an MM3A-positioned microelectrode, showing albino leaf patches respond to blue light, CO₂ and the stress hormone ABA — but not to photosynthesis.
Studying how stomata open, the authors record membrane potentials from individual guard cells impaled with a microelectrode positioned by an MM3A micromanipulator. By using albino leaf patches that lack functional chloroplasts, they separate the two stomatal signalling pathways: guard cells in albino tissue no longer respond to photosynthetically active radiation, yet still react to blue light, CO₂ and the stress hormone abscisic acid.
