ON THE POSSIBILITY OF INFLUENCE OF CELL SURFACE RELIEF ON STOMATAL MOVEMENTS

Abstract

Folds are often present on the surface of stomatal complex cells. This allows us to assume that the folds influence stomatal movements. To evaluate the validity of this assumption, the stomatal complexes with various surface reliefs of their cells were studied, namely the complexes with lateral folds, with marginal stomatal rings, with rings of ledges, with peristomatal rims, as well as those with folds located on subsidiary and ordinary epidermal cells without any obvious order, in Acokanthera oblongifolia, Acokanthera oppositifolia, Prunus laurocerasus, Populus tremula, Osmanthus yunnanensis, Raphiolepis ×delacourii, and Ternstroemia gymnanthera. In all the studied species, stomatal deformations depending on the presence of microrelief folds were observed. Since deformation processes are the basis of stomatal movements, it is possible to conclude that surface folds of stomatal complex cells are structural features of these cells capable of influencing the mechanics of stomatal movements.