Leaves Talk Long Distance

Abstract

Can one leaf tell another what to do? Lake et al . report that indeed, older leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana seem to influence the response of younger leaves to atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Both mature leaves and new leaves exhibited a decrease in stomata density when only the mature leaves were exposed to high CO 2 . The authors suggest that a long-distance signal gets transmitted from older to younger leaves. It is thought that new leaves cannot respond appropriately to changes in atmospheric CO 2 . J. A. Lake, W. P. Quick, D. J. Beerling, F. I. Woodward, BRS1, a serine carboxypeptidase, signals from mature to new leaves. Nature 411 , 154 (2001). [Online Journal]