Gene Editing and Metabolic Profiling Elucidate Stomatal Development in Maize
August 27, 2025| |
Stomatal development in maize is governed by a family of secreted peptides, including ZmSTOMAGEN1/2. To understand their specific roles, scientists from Guangxi University and partners developed a double knockout mutant using CRISPR-Cas9. The mutant plants showed severe defects in stomatal formation, including the complete loss of stomata in some locations and the development of abnormal, misshapen stomatal complexes. These issues stemmed from a failure in key cellular processes like asymmetric divisions and were linked to reduced expression of genes that are vital for stomatal initiation.
Physiologically, the stomatal defects in the mutant plants led to a lower stomatal density, decreasing the rates of photosynthesis and transpiration. Furthermore, this led to increased water-use efficiency (WUE). The study also revealed that the lack of functional ZmSTOMAGEN1/2 impacted the plant's hormonal balance, particularly the brassinosteroid and gibberellin levels.
Based on the findings, ZmSTOMAGEN1/2 plays a key role in regulating cell fate and can be used for improving WUE in maize, which is vital for developing crops that are more resilient to drought conditions.
Read the open-access article in PLOS One for more information.
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