Stomatal responses in isolated epidermis of the crassulacean acid metabolism plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana Hamet et Perr.

The optimal conditions for opening of stomata in detached epidermis of the Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM) plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana were determined. Stomatal opening in CO2-free air was unaffected by light so subsequently all epidermal strips were incubated in the dark and in CO2-free air. Apertures were maximal after 3 h incubation and were significantly greater at 15° C than 25° C. Thus stomata in isolated epidermis of this species can respond directly to temperature. Stomatal opening was greatest when the incubating buffer contained 17.6 mol m(-3) K(+), but decreased linearly with increasing K(+) concentrations between 17.6 and 300 mol m(-3); the decrease in aperture was shown to be associated with increasing osmotic potentials of the solutions. Reasons for this behaviour, which differs from that of many C3 and C4 species, are discussed. Stomatal apertures declined linearly upon incubation of epidermis on buffer solutions containing between 10(-11) and 10(-5) mol m(-3) abscisic acid (ABA). Hence stomata on isolated epidermis of K. daigremontiana respond to lower concentrations of ABA than those of any species reported previously.