To learn how species differences in stomatal behavior are regulated, the response of epidermal and leaf diffusive resistance to light was investigated in Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., Solanum pennellii Corr., and a periclinal chimera having an S. pennellii epidermis and an L. esculentum mesophyll that was produced from a graft of the two species. S. pennellii has about 23% fewer stomata per square millimeter than does L. esculentum, and the two species have contrasting stomatal sensitivities to light. The abaxial stomata of L. esculentum open in dimmer light and to a greater extent than the adaxial stomata. The abaxial and adaxial stomata of S. pennellii respond similarly to light incident on the adaxial epidermis and are less open at all quantum flux densities than comparable stomata of L. esculentum. The patterns of response to light of the abaxial and adaxial stomata of the chimera were practically identical to those of L. esculentum, and quite unlike those of S. pennellii. Thus, the pattern of stomatal light response in the chimera was regulated by the L. esculentum mesophyll. The reduction in stomatal frequency of the chimera, which was regulated by the epidermis of S. pennellii, contributed to the 40% difference in leaf diffusive resistance between the plants in moderate light.
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