An unusual strategy of stomatal control in the desert shrub Ammopiptanthus mongolicus

Abstract Water deficit is one of the main environmental constraints that limit plant growth. Accordingly, plants evoke rather complex strategies to respond and/or acclimate to such frustrating circumstances. Due to insufficient understandings of acclimatory mechanisms of plants' tolerance to persistent water deficit, a desert shrub of an ancient origin, Ammopiptanthus mongolicus, has recently attracted growing attentions. Differed from Arabidopsis, the opening of stomata of A. mongolicus is constrained by low external K + concentration of the guard cells. Although as a general consequence, a raised level of ABA is also induced in A. mongolicus following water deficit, this does not accordingly result in efficient stomatal closure. In consistent with this phenomenon, the expression of genes coding for the negative regulators of the ABA signaling cascade—the type 2C protein phosphatases (PP2Cs) are notably induced, whereas the transcription of the downstream SnRK2 protein kinase genes or the destination ion fluxing channel genes remain almost unaffected under water deficit treatments. Therefore, in term of stomatal control in response to water deficit, A. mongolicus seemingly employs an unusual strategy: a constrained stomatal opening controlled by extracellular K + concentrations rather than a prompt stomatal closure triggered by ABA-induced signaling pathway. Additionally, an acute accumulation of proline is induced by water deficit which may partly compromise the activation of antioxidant enzymes in A. mongolicus. Such strategy of stomatal control found in A. mongolicus may in certain extents, reflect the acclimatory divergence for plants’ coping with persistent stress of water deficit.