Osmoregulation of leaf motor cells

“Osmotic Motors” – the best-documented explanation for plant leaf movements – frequently reside in specialized motor leaf organs, pulvini. The movements result from dissimilar volume and turgor changes in two oppositely positioned parts of the pulvinus. This Osmotic Motor is powered by a plasma membrane proton ATPase, which drives KCl fluxes and, consequently, water, across the pulvinus into swelling cells and out of shrinking cells. Light signals and signals from the endogenous biological clock converge on the channels through which these fluxes occur. These channels and their regulatory pathways in the pulvinus are the topic of this review.