The ERECTA gene regulates plant transpiration efficiency in Arabidopsis

Assimilation of carbon by plants incurs water costs. In the many parts of the world where water is in short supply, plant transpiration efficiency, the ratio of carbon fixation to water loss, is critical to plant survival, crop yield and vegetation dynamics(1). When challenged by variations in their environment, plants often seem to coordinate photosynthesis and transpiration(2), but significant genetic variation in transpiration efficiency has been identified both between and within species(3,4). This has allowed plant breeders to develop effective selection programmes for the improved transpiration efficiency of crops(5), after it was demonstrated that carbon isotopic discrimination, Delta, of plant matter was a reliable and sensitive marker negatively related to variation in transpiration efficiency(3,4,6). However, little is known of the genetic controls of transpiration efficiency. Here we report the isolation of a gene that regulates transpiration efficiency, ERECTA. We show that ERECTA, a putative leucine-rich repeat receptor-like kinase (LRR-RLK)(7,8) known for its effects on inflorescence development(7,9), is a major contributor to a locus for Delta on Arabidopsis chromosome 2. Mechanisms include, but are not limited to, effects on stomatal density, epidermal cell expansion, mesophyll cell proliferation and cell - cell contact.