title: Measuring fluxes of mineral nutrients and toxicants in plants with radioactive tracers.
abstract: Unidirectional influx and efflux of nutrients and toxicants, and their resultant net fluxes, are central to the nutrition and toxicology of plants. Radioisotope tracing is a major technique used to measure such fluxes, both within plants, and between plants and their environments. Flux data obtained with radiotracer protocols can help elucidate the capacity, mechanism, regulation, and energetics of transport systems for specific mineral nutrients or toxicants, and can provide insight into compartmentation and turnover rates of subcellular mineral and metabolite pools. Here, we describe two major radioisotope protocols used in plant biology: direct influx (DI) and compartmental analysis by tracer efflux (CATE). We focus on flux measurement of potassium (K(+)) as a nutrient, and ammonia/ammonium (NH3/NH4(+)) as a toxicant, in intact seedlings of the model species barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). These protocols can be readily adapted to other experimental systems (e.g., different species, excised plant material, and other nutrients/toxicants). Advantages and limitations of these protocols are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Devrim
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Coskun
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Dev T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Britto
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto.
authors.forename: Ahmed M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hamam
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto; herbertk@utsc.utoronto.ca.
authors.forename: Herbert J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kronzucker
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000378:metabolism; D064751:Ammonium Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D001467:Hordeum / Q000378:metabolism; D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D011188:Potassium / Q000378:metabolism; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D064751:Ammonium Compounds; D009590:Nitrogen Radioisotopes; D011197:Potassium Radioisotopes; D000641:Ammonia; D011188:Potassium