What's Stomata?

You have 5 mins to be the best leaf!

Control the movement of stomata *and* the development of leaf cells to gain as much CO2 for photosynthesis and lose as little H2O as possible

These cells are mesophyll cells. They are photosynthetic and will absorb CO2 and use it to generate energy.

These are stomata and will help you control the movement of CO2 and H2O.

Further details!

Stomata are microscopic pores found on the surfaces of plants that play a critical role in plant gas exchange. They allow plants to rapidly respond to changes in their environment, optimising carbon uptake and waterloss. Often plant breeders are trying to increase the water use efficiency (WUE) of their crops. We can think of WUE as the amount of water lost for every carbon atom taken up and used in photosynthesis (CO₂/H₂O)

By selectively breeding plants with altered stomatal characteristics (eg decreased numbers of stomata and faster moving stomata), scientists are trying to alter crop WUE traits.

In this game, you can control leaf development and stomatal movements to achieve the highest WUE (ie get the most carbon while losing as little water as possible).