Editorial: Linking Stomatal Development and Physiology: From Stomatal Models to Non-model Species and Crops

Abstract

Stomata are highly dynamic valves in the epidermis of plants. These microscopic structures regulate the exchange of gases with the atmosphere and are essential for plant survival on land (Raven, 2002). There is an enduring fascination with stomata because of their specialized nature: from their unique development out of undifferentiated epidermal cells; to the environmental and internal signals they respond to; and the impacts their function have on climate and global change. These key themes have been the topic of many classical compendiums and scientific conferences (Jarvis and Mansfield, 1981; Ziegler et al., 1987; Roelfsema and Kollist, 2013). Research in the past two decades has accelerated our understanding of stomatal function, particularly through the accumulation of a critical mass of knowledge on the genetic underpinnings of stomatal development and physiology in the model angiosperm Arabidopsis (Assmann and Jegla, 2016; Qi and Torii, 2018). In this Frontiers eBook, we sought to bring together the latest research and reviews on stomatal biology that span a vast continuum: from cells to ecosystems. The articles were solicited with four key themes in mind: (1) The coordination of stomatal development with plant growth, development, and environmental signaling; (2) The role of stomatal development in plant acclimation and adaptation to the environment; (3) The influence of stomatal development and function on plant resource use, ecosystem processes, and global climate; and (4) The selection for stomatal traits in plant evolution, crop domestication and breeding, and designing food for the future.