Bin Liu

Consequence of water-logging on the N metabolism of bio-energy tree species

Oxygen deprivation in the rhizosphere is an important environmental stress for vascular plants that can limit growth and development and, thus, wood production of trees. The aim of my research is to contribute to the understanding of water-logging effects on tree N metabolism, including N uptake and assimilation, N storage and mobilization in poplar trees which play an important role in forest plantation, especially as a bio-energy tree species. To achieve these goals, transgenic poplar trees with knocked out nitrate reductase (NR) activity will be used.  In these trees N uptake and partitioning as well as carbon metabolism will be studied under normal and water-logging conditions. Finally, the significance of nitrate reduction on NO formation, NO function during anoxia as well as its connection to water-logging tolerance will be elucidated.

Supervisors: Heinz Rennenberg; Jürgen Kreuzwieser; Siegfried Fink