Physiology and toxicology of cellular ion fluxes in plant roots

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Our laboratory studies the physiological ecology of nutrient acquisition in terrestrial plants. It examines the role of nutrient ion fluxes at cellular, whole-organism, and ecosystem levels, in several key areas: nutrition and yield potential in cereals, forest succession, cellular ionic interactions, nutrient ion toxicities, and salt stress. The current lead foci are the acquisition mechanisms for the macronutrients nitrogen and potassium, mechanisms for the toxic entry of sodium, and the energy cost of flux mechanisms at the plasma membrane of root cells. The experimental approach draws heavily upon recent molecular discoveries and ranges from the high-precision measurement of nutrient fluxes using radiotracers to the use of ion-selective electrodes and fluorescence dyes, ionic and metabolic profiling of tissues, respiration analysis, growth trials, and mathematical modeling of cellular flux processes. The laboratory is known for its investigation of the nutrient physiology of intact plants, the development of novel methods to tackle the complexities associated with whole systems, and its focus on species of agricultural and silvicultural importance.