title: Mobile MUTE specifies subsidiary cells to build physiologically improved grass stomata.
abstract: Plants optimize carbon assimilation while limiting water loss by adjusting stomatal aperture. In grasses, a developmental innovation-the addition of subsidiary cells (SCs) flanking two dumbbell-shaped guard cells (GCs)-is linked to improved stomatal physiology. Here, we identify a transcription factor necessary and sufficient for SC formation in the wheat relativeBrachypodium distachyon.Unexpectedly, the transcription factor is an ortholog of the stomatal regulatorAtMUTE, which defines GC precursor fate inArabidopsisThe novel role ofBdMUTEin specifying lateral SCs appears linked to its acquisition of cell-to-cell mobility inBrachypodiumPhysiological analyses on SC-less plants experimentally support classic hypotheses that SCs permit greater stomatal responsiveness and larger range of pore apertures. Manipulation of SC formation and function in crops, therefore, may be an effective approach to enhance plant performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. raissig@stanford.edu dbergmann@stanford.edu.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3179-9372
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Raissig
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Juliana L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5723-1016
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Matos
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: M Ximena
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9871-4954
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Anleu Gil
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Ari
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1646-307X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kornfeld
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Akhila
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-1682-3493
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bettadapur
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1798-1090
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Abrash
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Hannah R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Grayson
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Badgley
authors.affiliation: U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vogel
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, 260 Panama Street, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. raissig@stanford.edu dbergmann@stanford.edu.|Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Stanford University, 371 Serra Mall, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Dominique C
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0873-3543
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bergmann
mesh_terms: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D058431:Brachypodium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D002450:Cell Communication; D002465:Cell Movement; D054046:Plant Stomata / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051792:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Proteins; C517479:MUTE protein, Arabidopsis