Fig. 1.

Stomatal patterning shifts with ploidy level in wheat. Sample images of overall stomatal distribution along the adaxial epidermis (a–c) and individual stomatal complexes (d–f) in Triticum baeoticum (2n; a, d), T. araraticum (4n; b, e) and T. aestivum cv Cougar (6n; c, f). Scale bar a–c = 80 µm; d–f = 20 µm. Stomatal width (g) (ANOVA, F_(2,81) = 169.5, P < 0.0001), area (h) (ANOVA, F_(2,81) = 218.7, P < 0.0001), length (i) (ANOVA, F_(2,73) = 80.29 p < 0.0001), density (j) (ANOVA, F_(2,81) = 61.21 P < 0.0001), and conductance, g_s (k) (ANOVA, F_(2,25) = 7.494, P = 0.0028) are shown for all analysed wheat lines. Results of a posthoc Tukey test comparing sequential ploidy levels are indicated within each analysis, with an asterisk when significant at the p < 0.05 level or NS when not significant. For g–k, data are shown as box plots (25th−75th percentile, horizontal line = median) with whiskers indicating maximum and minimum values, n = 6. l For each analysed wheat line, mean mesophyll porosity is plotted against mean stomatal conductance, g_s, with ploidy level indicated for each point. Results of correlation analysis are presented (Pearson r² value). Results for individual paired data are shown in Supplementary Fig. 2