What is the function of guard cell s
Answers
When you get hot, you sweat, and when you sweat, water comes out of your skin through pores called sweat glands. Plants also 'sweat' through a process called transpiration, and the plant's pores, which are found on the leaves, are called stomata.
The difference between you sweating and the plant 'sweating' is that your body is purposefully pushing water out of your sweat glands to cool off. Plants do not like losing water, but it is a necessary trade-off because the stomata allow gases to exchange during photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of converting sunlight into usable chemical energy in plants, and this process is necessary for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide to occur.
So, how do plants keep from losing all their water through stomata? Surrounding each stomata are two guard cells, which regulate the opening and closing of stomata to facilitate gas exchange and control transpiration in plants.
Explanation:
Guard cells are cells surrounding each stoma. They help to regulate the rate of transpiration by opening and closing the stomata. To understand how they function, study the following figures. As you look at the figures, keep in mind that an increase in solute concentration lowers the water potential of the solution, and that water moves from a region with higher water potential to a region of lower water potential.
If the guard cells are turgid, or swollen, and the stomatal opening is large. This turgidity is caused by the accumulation of K+ (potassium ions) in the guard cells. As K+ levels increase in the guard cells, the water potential of the guard cells drops, and water enters the guard cells.
If guard cells have lost water, which causes the cells to become flaccid and the stomatal opening to close. This may occur when the plant has lost an excessive amount of water. In addition, it generally occurs daily as light levels drop and the use of CO2 in photosynthesis decrease