Drought stress triggers a range of adaptive responses in plants, which may be both structural adjustments and physiological acclimations. Our prior research shows that maize plants primarily reduced their leaf area when grown under drought conditions, while stomatal conductance was less affected. This observation suggests that structural adjustments may be favored by stressed plants. However, it is unclear if the number of stomata remains unchanged despite reductions in overall leaf area, thereby increasing stomatal density in stressed plants or if less stomata are formed, maintaining stomatal density at the level of unstressed plants. Understanding these dynamics is essential for determining how maize regulates water use under stress.

In this study maize plants will be grown under well-watered and drought stressed conditions and leaf samples will be analyzed using microscopic techniques to investigate stomatal density between stressed and non-stressed plants. By quantifying this, we aim to demonstrate that leaf area reduction is not merely a passive response to stress but an active strategy by plants to regulate water use, minimizing water loss and enhancing survival under drought conditions.

Ultimately, this study is crucial in deepening our understanding of how maize optimizes water use under drought stress, offering valuable insights that could drive the development of more drought-resilient crop varieties and promote sustainable agricultural practices in the face of increasing climate variability.

Contact: Saniv Gupta