Guard cells and mesophyll: a delicate metabolic relationship.

Abstract

Understanding cell type-specific metabolism, especially under unfavorable conditions, is paramount. Recent discoveries by Shi et al. and Auler et al. linked to stomatal closure stimuli, abscisic acid (ABA), and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have pointed to new avenues to be explored to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms linked to starch and malate metabolism in guard cells during stress.