Drawing the future: Stomatal response to CO(2) levels.

Gas exchange between the plant and the atmosphere is regulated by controlling both the stomatal density and the aperture of the stomatal pore. Environmental factors such as light, the level of atmospheric CO(2) and hormones regulate stomatal development and/or function. Because atmospheric CO(2) levels have been rising since the Industrial Revolution, and it is predicted that they will continue doing so in the future, an understanding of the CO(2) signalling mechanisms in the stomatal responses will help to know how plants were in the past and will allow predicting how they will respond to climate change in the near future. This article covers the recent knowledge of the CO(2) signalling mechanisms that regulate both stomatal function and development.