Our laboratory, which is part of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, is engaged in research to uncover the mechanisms and physiological significance of plant associated solute transport processes. In particular we study:
1) The mechanism and regulation of salt (NaCl) transport in plants with the aim of manipulating these processes for improving plant salinity tolerance. We have projects that study both anions (i.e. chloride, nitrate) and sodium.
2) The transport processes underpinning, and the physiological significance of, cell-specific nutrient compartmentation.
3) The mechanism, regulation and physiological role of organic acid transport, which is associated with toxic ion exclusion and cell signalling
We use a combination of physiological and molecular tools in our work and conduct a range of biochemical, (electro-) physiological and molecular assays from the micro-scale (with sub-cellular or single cell-resolution) to the whole plant level and beyond to field scale studies; through such approaches we have shown the relevance of our work for addressing agricultural challenges such as high soil salinity.
We are located in the Plant Research Centre on the Waite Campus, Adelaide, South Australia. We are grateful to our research sponsors; the Australian Research Council, the Grains Research and Development Corporation and the Grape and Wine Research and Development Corporation.