Populus euphratica Apyrases Increase Drought Tolerance by Modulating Stomatal Aperture in Arabidopsis

Stomatal regulation is crucial to reduce water consumption under drought conditions. Extracellular ATP (eATP) serves as a signaling agent in stomatal regulation; however, it is less known whether the eATP mediation of stomatal aperture is linked to apyrases (APYs), the principal enzymes that control the concentration of eATP. To clarify the role of APYs in stomatal control, PeAPY1 and PeAPY2 were isolated from Populus euphratica and transferred into Arabidopsis. Compared with the wild-type Arabidopsis and loss-of-function mutants (Atapy1 and Atapy2), PeAPY1- and PeAPY2-transgenic plants decreased stomatal aperture under mannitol treatment (200 mM, 2 h) and reduced water loss during air exposure (90 min). The role of apyrase in stomatal regulation resulted from its control in eATP-regulated stomatal movements and increased stomatal sensitivity to ABA. The bi-phasic dose-responses to applied nucleotides, i.e., the low ATP (0.3–1.0 mM)-promoted opening and high ATP (>2.0 mM)-promoted closure, were both restricted by P. euphratica apyrases. It is noteworthy that eATP at a low concentration (0.3 mM) counteracted ABA action in the regulation of stomatal aperture, while overexpression of PeAPY1 or PeAPY2 effectively diminished eATP promotion in opening, and consequently enhanced ABA action in closure. We postulate a speculative model of apyrase signaling in eATP- and ABA-regulated stomatal movements under drought.