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Sharon
Robinson Research Area
Thermogenesis
and thermoregulation in plants
This new national research project with Dr
Jennifer Watling and Professor
Roger Seymour (University of Adelaide),
and Dr.
Kikukatsu Ito, (Iwate University, Japan)
uses an integrated approach to elucidate
the mechanisms by which certain plants, such
as the sacred lotus (Nelumbo nucifera),
are able to maintain above-ambient stable temperatures
without the complex homeostatic processes present
in animals.
This process is likely facilitated
through respiratory enzymes that are unique to
plants, such as the alternative oxidase. We are
using a combination of proteomic and biochemical
techniques as well as on-line gas chromatography
mass spectrometry techniques to measure plant
respiration. Recent highlights include the first
measurements
of in vivo fluxes through the alternative pathway
in thermogenic tissues (Watling
et al, 2006 PDF 260k).
Current Staff & Students
Rebecca Miller - Post Doctoral
Researcher
Nicole Grant - PhD, Thermoregulation in the sacred
lotus.
Future opportunities for research
1. The role of the alternative oxidase and uncoupling
proteins in thermoregulating plants
2. Spatial and temporal patterns of AOX and UCP gene expression in thermoregulating
plants.
Related publications
Watling, J.R., Robinson,
S.A. Seymour, R.S (2006) Contribution
of the alternative pathway to respiration during
thermogenesis in flowers of the sacred lotus.
Plant Physiology 140, 1367-1373
 Watling
et al, 2006 (PDF 260k) |
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Lambers, H., Robinson, S.A., Ribas-Carbo, M. (2005)
Regulation of respiration in vivo. In Plant Respiration:
from cell to ecosystem, Advances in Photosynthesis
and Respiration v18 (H. Lambers. M Ribas-Carbo eds.).
Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 1-15.
Ribas-Carbo, M., Robinson, S.A., Giles, L. (2005)
The application of oxygen isotope technique to respiratory
pathway partitioning. In Plant Respiration: from
cell to ecosystem, Advances in Photosynthesis and
Respiration v18 (H. Lambers. M Ribas-Carbo eds.).
Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 31-42.
Robinson, S.A., Ribas-Carbo, M., Yakir, D., Giles,
L. and Berry, J.A. (1995). Beyond SHAM and cyanide:
opportunities for studying the alternative oxidase
in plant respiration using oxygen isotope discrimination.
Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 22 487-96.
Ribas-Carbo, M., Robinson, S.A., Gonzàlez-Meler,
M.A Lennon, A.M., Giles, L., Siedow, J.N. and Berry,
J.A. (2000) Effects of light on respiration and oxygen
isotope fractionation in soybean cotyledons. Plant
Cell and Environment 23 983-989.
Paper
in PDF (192k)
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