Finding the missing links in salt and water transport in plants

谷物作物和园艺植物使用一种叫做水通道蛋白的蛋白质来使水穿过细胞膜，但其中一组蛋白质也可以运输一些重要的营养离子以及有毒的钠离子。本项目旨在利用生物物理学和分子生物学的先进技术揭示水通道蛋白调节水和离子运输的分子途径。这些结果将为植物如何协调和适应不断变化的水和盐条件提供新的见解，解决离子和水如何进出植物液泡的缺失环节。其好处包括扩大了植物育种计划的创新目标范围，以提高在不断变化的气候下的植物生产力。

Grain crops and horticultural plants use proteins called aquaporins to move water across cell membranes, but a group of these proteins can also transport some important nutrient ions as well as toxic sodium ions. This project aims to reveal the molecular pathways that regulate water and ion transport via aquaporins using advanced techniques in biophysics and molecular biology. These results will provide novel insights into how plants coordinate and adapt to changing water and salt conditions, addressing a missing link in how ions and water move in and out of plant vacuoles. Benefits include an expanded, innovative range of targets for plant breeding programs to improve plant productivity in our changing climate.