In the Midwestern summer, humans and plants have to breathe through the heat and humidity. Researchers hope that a retooled crop plant—one with an improved ventilation system within its leaves—could thrive while avoiding drought stress by reducing “crop sweat.” Thanks to next-generation imaging technology powered by Argonne National Laboratory’s particle collider beamline, a team of scientists now has precise schematics of the leaf’s interior and can refine approaches to breeding hardier crop plants.

The research, published in Plant Physiology, was led by postdoctoral researcher James Fischer in the laboratory of plant biology and crop sciences professor Andrew Leakey at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Their work represents the first detailed look at how the pores on the leaf surfaces of sorghum, a highly productive and resilient grass crop, connect to the air pathways, photosynthetic centers and veins beneath.

“There are connections between each component of the leaf… t’s a highly organized system,” Fischer said. “We are really defining the leaf beyond just carbon dioxide goes in, water comes out.”