Effect of Cu concentration and bioavailability on plant storage strategies

Root uptake of Cu has been extensively studied and isotopic tools have been used to go further to detect and quantify different uptake pathways in response to abiotic stress. Physiological and biogeochemical processes are well understood when Cu is taken up by roots. However, our recent work indicate that Cu can be taken up by leaves following a foliar deposition, and plant responses along with Cu homeostasis when leaves are exposed to different forms and doses of Cu are not known.
In this project we propose to study the effect of Cu concentration and bioavailability on plant storage strategies. We will study Cu distribution, accumulation, and transport to roots along with the associated Cu transformations following foliar application of different concentrations and forms of copper. In this study, a CuO NP will be used, in comparison to ionic Cu. We will also use a tomato plant in which our preliminary result indicate foliar uptake and leaves-to-root translocation of Cu.