Electrophysiological Analysis of Metal Transporters and Membrane Transport in Metal Hyperaccumulator Plants

• Applicant: Dr. Joachim Scholz-Starke
• Subject Area: Plant Physiology
• Term: from 2006 to 2009
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 28053876

The emission of heavy metals caused by human activities poses a major threat to the environment and human health. The phytoremediation technology aims at the removal of pollutants from contaminated soils and waters by making use of naturally occurring plant species capable of accumulating heavy metals in above ground organs to extremely high concentrations. In recent years, great efforts concerning the mechanisms underlying metal tolerance and hyperaccumulation have been made. Transport processes across cellular membranes, in particular across the membrane of the vacuole, serving as the cellular site of detoxification, have been recognised as being of major importance. As a consequence, many plant genes encoding putative metal transport proteins have been cloned and partially characterised. However, detailed functional analyses of these proteins, in particular concerning their mode of action, regulation and the determinants of metal specificity are largely missing. This proposal aims at the functional characterisation of cloned metal transport proteins using electrophysiological techniques and the identification of metal-related transport processes in the vacuoles of metal hyperaccumulator species. Results from these studies will have an impact on our understanding of metal tolerance and hyperaccumulation and will support the engineering of plants suitable for phytoremediation efforts.

• DFG Programme: Research Fellowships
• International Connection: Italy
• Host: Dr. Franco Gambale