Improving salt tolerance by optimising ion transport in chloroplasts

该项目旨在发现叶绿体中的离子运输机制及其分子起源，以区分盐生植物和糖类植物，使盐生植物在盐胁迫下优化光合作用。作物的产量损失与盐胁迫对其叶绿体的影响有关，但一些植物在土壤盐分较高的情况下仍能保持生长和产量。这个项目将使用生物物理学来描述缺乏靶向叶绿体转运蛋白的突变体，比较一个模型糖藻和密切相关的盐生植物。这些基本分子的预期结果是耐盐作物。

This project aims to discover the ion transport mechanisms and their molecular origins in chloroplasts that differentiate halophytes from glycophytes, allowing halophytes to optimise photosynthesis during salt stress. Yield losses in crop plants are linked to the effects of salt stress on their chloroplasts, but some plants maintain growth and yield irrespective of high soil salinity. This project will use biophysics to characterise mutants deficient in targeted chloroplast transporters, comparing a model glycophyte and closely related halophyte. The expected outcome of these fundamental molecular is salt-tolerant crop plants.