The

  C  Project  
11

Measurement  of  Root  Exuda8on  at  

Elevated  CO2  levels  in  Low  and  High  
Nutrient  Solu8ons  

Vérida  Léandre  
 Introduc8on  
•  Radiotracer  techniques  are  employed  in  
various  scien8fic  fields:  
– Nuclear  medicine  (PET  scans,  MIs)  
– Environmental  science  (measuring  
contamina8on)  
 Mo8va8on  
•  Over  the  past  200  
years,  Earth’s  
atmospheric  CO2  
concentra8on  has  
increased  by  over  35%.  

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): Climate

Change 2001,
“The Carbon Cycle and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide”
 TUNL-­‐Phytotron  Collabora8on  
•  C.R.  Howell  (Physics)  
•  C.  Reid  (Biology)  
•  A.S.  Crowell  (Physics)  
•  L.  Cumberbatch,  B.  Fallin  (Duke  Medical  Physics  
graduate  students)  
•  A.  Palomares  (recent  NCCU  graduate)  
•  K.  Brook  (Duke  student)  
•  Vérida  Léandre  (NC  A&T  student)  
 •  Carbohydrates  produced   Chloroplasts
trap light
by  photosynthesis   energy

H2O
•  Sugars  produced  in  
Light
mature  leaves  and  
transported  via  phloem  
8ssue  

CO2

6H 2O +611CO2 + light11 C6 H12O6 + 6O2 Sugars

From Discover Science, Scott, Foresman, & Co., 1993
5  
 Root  Exuda8on  
•  Root  exudates:  sugars  released  into  
rhizoshpere  by  healthy  and  intact  plant  roots  
•  Many  factors  affect  root  exudates:  
–  Plant  species  
–  Plant  age  
–  Temperature  
–  Light  
–  Soil  Moisture/Root  Damage  
–  Soil  Nutrients  
 Experimental  Set-­‐Up  
•  Root  exudate  data  was  taken  at  elevated  CO2  
levels  (580  ppm)  in  low  and  high  nutrient  
solu8ons.  

11C chamber
Experimental  Set-­‐Up  

Schematic of root
system.set-up (from
M.K. thesis
 p + 14N 11C + "
1

2 3 4
5
1 Produce H- ions in negative ion source

2 Accelerate H- ions toward +5MV terminal

3 Strip off electrons with carbon foil (H-  p)

4 Accelerate protons away from +5MV terminal

5 Bend p in magnet and collide on 14N target

C.R.  Howell   October  2008   9  
 Primary  Nuclear  Reac8on  
•  Positron-­‐Electron  Annihila8on  

Detector

Detector
Radioac8ve  Gas  Handling  System  
a)   Sugars  loaded  into  a  sieve  tube  
b)   Loading  of  the  phloem  sets  up  
water  poten8al  gradient  that  
facilitates  movement  of  water  
into  dense  phloem  sap  from  the  
neighboring  xylem  
c)   As  hydrosta8c  pressure  in  phloem  
sieve  tube  increases,  pressure  
flow  begins,  and  sap  moves  
through  the  phloem  
d)   At  the  sink,  incoming  sugars  
ac8vely  transported  out  of  
phloem  and  removed  as  complex  
carbohydrates    
e)   Loss  of  solute  produces  high  
water  poten8al  in  phloem,  and  
water  passes  out,  returning   http://home.earthlink.net/~dayvdanls/plant_transport.html
eventually  to  xylem  
March  1,  2006   University  of  Notre  Dame   13  
 Input/Output  Models  
Shoot  Export   Root  Export  

Shoot
Roots

Imager
input  
Root Exudate Respiration

Roots output  

output

Root exudate Respiration Best Model:

y k = a1  y k 1  b j  uk  j
Input/Output  
Data  Analysis  
 Future  Work    
•  In  the  future,  this  project  will  explore  the  
effects  of  different  nutrient  solu8ons  at  
ambient  CO2  levels  (380ppm).    
•  A  con8nuous  loading  mechanism  will  be  
implemented  to  measure  the  intrinsic  8me  
response  of  plants  and  monitor  processes  with  
longer  8me  scales.    
–  Sudden  changes  in  plant  environment  
–  Response  to  herbivory  
–  Plant  biorhythm  studies