Hanna Hõrak
Univeristy of Tartu
Hanna Hõrak defended her PhD on the molecular mechanisms of stomatal carbon dioxide signaling in 2017 in the University of Tartu. She then completed a postdoctoral project in the lab of prof. Julie Gray in the University of Sheffield, UK on stomatal development and pathogen responses; and another in the Estonian University of Life Sciences on plant stress physiology. In 2020, Hanna started an independent research group in the Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Estonia. Her work is focused on stomatal patterning and physiology with the aim to understand, how environmental and hormonal signals regulate stomatal development and how different stomatal patterns affect photosynthesis, plant growth, water use efficiency, and yield. Hanna’s work is mostly focused on the Arabidopsis model but her interests also encompass ancient land plants and agriculturally important species such as tomato, potato, and cereal crops.
Title of presentation
Stomatal form and function in the light side of the leaf
Authors
Hanna Hõrak
Institute of Technology, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, 50411, Tartu, Estonia
Abstract
Most plants have all or most of their stomata in the lower (abaxial) leaf side, whereas grasses and many other herbs, including the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis), have high stomatal numbers also on the upper (adaxial) leaf surface. Most studies on stomatal development and guard cell signalling have focused on abaxial stomata and very little is known on the formation and role of adaxial stomata in plants. Stomatal ratio describes the distribution of stomata between upper and lower leaf surfaces. How stomatal ratio is determined in plants remains unclear. Our recent work indicates that: i) mechanisms that govern stomatal development in the adaxial and abaxial epidermis in Arabidopsis are at least partly different, ii) adaxial and abaxial stomatal development and conductance respond differently to changes in environmental conditions, leading to changes in stomatal ratio and stomatal conductance ratio; and iii) stomatal ratio is positively related with yield in tomatoes. Thus, understanding the mechanisms of adaxial stomatal development and how stomatal ratio is adjusted in plants can help to breed crops with improved yield.
My Sessions
Stomatal form and function in the light side of the leaf
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Presentation