Stomatal opening quantitatively related to potassium transport: evidence from electron probe analysis.

When stomata of Vicia faba opened (from a stomatal aperture of about 2 micrometers to one of 12 micrometers) the solute content of the guard cells increased by 4.8 x 10(-12) osmoles per stoma. During the same time an average of 4.0 x 10(-12) gram equivalents of K(+) were transported into each pair of guard cells. This amount of K(+), if associated with dibasic anions, is sufficient to produce the changes in guard cell volume and osmotic pressure associated with stomatal opening. Analysis of Cl, P, and S showed that these elements were not transported in significant amounts during stomatal opening. This finding suggests that the anions balancing K(+) were predominantly organic. K(+) was specifically required because no other elements, likely to be present as cations, were found to accumulate in appreciable quantities in guard cells of open stomata.