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Plant vacuoles play several roles in controlling development, pathogen defence, and stress response. γVPE is a vacuolarlocalised cysteine protease with a caspase-1 like activity involved in the activation and maturation of downstream vacuolar hydrolytic enzymes that trigger hypersensitive cell death and tissue senescence. This work provides evidence that γVPE is strongly expressed in Arabidopsis guard cells and is involved in water stress response. The γvpe knock-out mutants showed reduced stomatal opening and an increased resistance to desiccation suggesting a new role of γVPE in control of stomatal movements.