Role and interrelationship of PTPases and H2O2 in light/dark-regulated stomatal movement in Vicia faba

Abstract

Role and interrelationship of protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPases) and H2O2 in light/dark-regulated stomatal movement in Vicia faba were investigated by epidermal strip bioassay, laser-scanning confocal microscopy and assays of PTPase activity. Our results indicate that phenylarsine oxide (PAO), a specific inhibitor of PTPases, ascorbic acid (ASA), an important reducing substrate for H2O2 removal, and catalase (CAT), one of the H2O2 scavenging enzymes, did not cause any change of stomatal aperture in light, but remarkably prevented dark-induced stomatal closure. Exogenous H2O2 had no obvious effect on stomatal aperture in the dark, but significantly induced stomatal closure in light. Both PTPase activity in epidermal strips and endogenous H2O2 level in guard cells in the dark were higher than those in light. The results showed that both PTPases and H2O2 mediate light/dark-regulated stomatal movement, that dark-induced stomatal closure requires the activation of PTPases and the enhancement of H2O2 levels in guard cells, and stomatal opening caused by light is associated with the inactivation of PTPases and the reduction of H2O2 levels in guard cells. Additionally, like ASA and CAT, PAO abolished dark-, exogenous H2O2-induced stomatal closure and dichlorofluorescein fluorescence in guard cells, indicating that activation of PTPases can enhance H2O2 levels probably via suppressing the decrease of H2O2 levels in guard cells. On the other hand, similar to PAO, ASA and CAT evidently prevented dark-, exogenous H2O2-induced stomatal closure and obviously inactivated PTPases in the dark. However, exogenous H2O2 significantly activated PTPases in light. The results show that H2O2 can induce activation of PTPases. Taken together, the present results provide evidence that both H2O2 and PTPases are involved in light/dark-regulated stomatal movement, and the interaction between H2O2 and PTPases plays a pivotal role in light/dark signal transduction process in guard cells.