How Amphibious Plants Rewired a Gas Exchange Pathway to Survive in Water

January 24, 2023 • by Emily Engelbart

Just as humans cannot breathe underwater, the tiny pores of plants can't exchange air underwater.

When grown on land, the amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica produces pores called stomata (left); but grown in water, it does not. Credit: Shuka Ikematsu.

Graphical abstract

When the amphibious plant Rorippa aquatica is grown on land, red and blue light trigger genes called SPCH and MUTE to produce pores called stomata (left). But when the plant is growing underwater, red light causes the hormone ethylene to build up in its tissues, which suppresses the SPCH and MUTE genes and in turn inhibits the formation of stomata. Credit: Shuka Ikematsu and Issey Takahashi.

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