Plant Nutrition and Physiology


İsmail Çakmak Levent Öztürk	Plant Nutrition and Physiology Understanding of fundamental and applied aspects of plant mineral nutrition and plant nutritional physiology is the main research area. Role of plant nutrition in i) mitigating abiotic stress (such as heat and drought), ii) climate change-linked stress and iii) improving nutritional value of food crops are the high priority research tasks. Crop plants are often exposed to diverse environmental stress conditions which are becoming more frequent with the global warming. Our on-going research activities are focused on characterization of the role of adequate plant mineral nutrition in mitigating stress-related decreases in plant growth, and identify major physiological mechanisms involved in protection of plants from stress conditions. In these studies, a particular attention is paid to the contribution of mineral nutrition to the antioxidative defense mechanisms of plants. Second major research topic of the group is related to Hidden Hunger problem in human populations (i.e., deficiencies of micronutrients including zinc, iron, iodine and selenium). Hidden Hunger affects health of about two billion people worldwide and associated with reduced dietary intake of micronutrients. An extensive research program is ongoing investigating i) the role of agronomic and genetic approaches for improving concentrations of micronutrients in food crops and ii) understanding physiological and molecular mechanisms affecting the root uptake, shoot transport and seed deposition of micronutrients.
Devrim Coşkun	Nutrient and toxicant transport in plants How do plants acquire and utilize essential and beneficial mineral nutrients from their environment? How are mineral toxicants absorbed and how do they impact the physiology and performance of plants? How do we effectively and responsibly translate laboratory findings to field-level advances in crop performance and agricultural practice? These are some of the major research questions we try to tackle in our lab. We apply both classical (e.g., radioisotopic flux analysis, electrophysiology, tissue-content analysis, gas-exchange measurements, etc.) and contemporary (e.g., heterologous expression systems, genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, fiber photometry, etc.) techniques to the study of nutrient and toxicant transport in the world’s foremost crops (e.g., rice, wheat, legumes, etc.). Major research themes include: (1) Silicon (Si) transport and Si-derived stress resilience; (2) Low-affinity nitrogen uptake and ammonium toxicity; and (3) Potassium/sodium transport and dynamics in the contexts of nutrition and salinity stress. In collaboration with world leaders in agronomy (both locally and abroad), we aim to apply laboratory findings to real-world improvements in areas of utmost importance, including food security, agricultural sustainability, and environmental protection.

İsmail Çakmak

Levent Öztürk

Plant Nutrition and Physiology
Understanding of fundamental and applied aspects of plant mineral nutrition and plant nutritional physiology is the main research area. Role of plant nutrition in i) mitigating abiotic stress (such as heat and drought), ii) climate change-linked stress and iii) improving nutritional value of food crops are the high priority research tasks.

Crop plants are often exposed to diverse environmental stress conditions which are becoming more frequent with the global warming. Our on-going research activities are focused on characterization of the role of adequate plant mineral nutrition in mitigating stress-related decreases in plant growth, and identify major physiological mechanisms involved in protection of plants from stress conditions. In these studies, a particular attention is paid to the contribution of mineral nutrition to the antioxidative defense mechanisms of plants. Second major research topic of the group is related to Hidden Hunger problem in human populations (i.e., deficiencies of micronutrients including zinc, iron, iodine and selenium). Hidden Hunger affects health of about two billion people worldwide and associated with reduced dietary intake of micronutrients. An extensive research program is ongoing investigating i) the role of agronomic and genetic approaches for improving concentrations of micronutrients in food crops and ii) understanding physiological and molecular mechanisms affecting the root uptake, shoot transport and seed deposition of micronutrients.

Nutrient and toxicant transport in plants

How do plants acquire and utilize essential and beneficial mineral nutrients from their environment? How are mineral toxicants absorbed and how do they impact the physiology and performance of plants? How do we effectively and responsibly translate laboratory findings to field-level advances in crop performance and agricultural practice? These are some of the major research questions we try to tackle in our lab.

We apply both classical (e.g., radioisotopic flux analysis, electrophysiology, tissue-content analysis, gas-exchange measurements, etc.) and contemporary (e.g., heterologous expression systems, genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, fiber photometry, etc.) techniques to the study of nutrient and toxicant transport in the world’s foremost crops (e.g., rice, wheat, legumes, etc.). Major research themes include:

(1) Silicon (Si) transport and Si-derived stress resilience;
(2) Low-affinity nitrogen uptake and ammonium toxicity; and
(3) Potassium/sodium transport and dynamics in the contexts of nutrition and salinity stress.

In collaboration with world leaders in agronomy (both locally and abroad), we aim to apply laboratory findings to real-world improvements in areas of utmost importance, including food security, agricultural sustainability, and environmental protection.

Plant Nutrition and Physiology

Plant Nutrition and Physiology

Nutrient and toxicant transport in plants