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Dr. Leon Kochian 237 U. S. Plant, Soil, and Nutrition Lab phone: 607.255.2454 email: lvk1@cornell.edu |
The roots are the site at which plants absorb water and nutrients from the soil. Research in the Kochian lab focuses on three different aspects of root biology as it relates to mineral nutrition acquisition and plant responses to the environment. First, the lab is interested in increasing the accumulation of nutritionally important mineral nutrients in plants, such as iron, zinc, and calcium, while minimizing the entry of toxic heavy metals into the food chain, such as cadmium and lead. This aspect of the lab’s research hopes to improve the nutritional quality of crop plants. Secondly, up to 50% of the world’s soils are acidic (soil pH < 5), and the high acidity causes forms of aluminum (Al) that are toxic to plant roots to be solubilize into the soil solution. Hence, the Kochian lab is investigating ways to increase the tolerance of plants to toxic Al on such acid soils, which may lead to improved crop production. Finally, the lab is addressing the problem of heavy metal contaminated soils by the use of hyperaccumulating plants for phytoremediation. The fundamental research conducted in the lab investigates the mechanisms by which certain plants are able to withstand the accumulation of high levels of toxic substances and how these plants could be potentially useful for cleaning contaminated soils.
For more information about the research in the Kochian lab, please visit the lab’s website or the Plant Biology website. Dr. Kochian is also a member of the Genomics Initiative.