The Groups > Professor Hans Lambers
 

Professor Hans Lambers
Head of School of Plant Biology
The University of Western Australia

Personal Website Address: http://www.uwa.edu.au/people/hans. lambers
Email: hlambers@cyllene.uwa.edu.au

Research Aims
RETURN TO TOP

The Big Question

My research group focuses on both native species and crop plants. Key questions relate to mechanisms that explain phosphate acquisition by plants occurring on severely nutrient-impoverished soils (crop legumes as well as native Proteaceae and Cyperaceae). Another line of research, in the context of the CRC for Plant-based Solutions for Dryland Salinity, focuses on water relations of Western Australian native plants. Since the focus of that research line is not on mineral nutrition, I will not describe it here in further details.

Proteaceae and Cyperaceae are typically non-mycorrhizal, but have cluster roost and dauciform roots, respectively. These produce and exude large amounts of carboxylates, mainly citrate and malate. My group focuses on the metabolism associated with the production of carboxylates, and on the transport of carboxylates and phosphate in roots. Some Proteaceae are extremely sensitive to phosphate fertilisation , because they have a very low capacity to down-regulate their phosphate-uptake system. We aim to elucidate the mechanism that accounts for this lack of down-regulation, and how this varies amongst species of the Proteaceae.

The Short-Term Goals

 

  1. Identify the genes involved in phosphate uptake in cluster roots, and how their expression depends on cluster-root development and plant phosphate status. These experiments are also the first step in identifying the mechanism that accounts for the lack of down-regulation of the phosphate-uptake system in Proteaceae that are very sensitive to phosphate toxicity.

  2. Identify strategies to acquire phosphate from severely impoverished soils in non-mycorrhizal Australian native species, other than Proteaceae and Cyperaceae.

  3. Identify to what extent variation in exudate composition varies amongst Proteaceae and amongst soils, and what is the ecological significance of this variation.

  4. Assess variation in carbon metabolism, including alternative respiration, associated with production and storage of carboxylates in cluster roots.

  5. Identify strategies to acquire phosphate from phosphorus-fixing agricultural soils in new legumes.

  6. Identify the genes that are involved in cluster-root formation and functioning in Lupinus albus , and investigate if these genes are available in related non-cluster-root-forming Lupinus species.

We have excellent facilities for investigation of root exudation, respiration and mineral nutrition. Techniques currently used in this research and conducted in the laboratory include HPLC, mass spectrometry to assess alternative respiratory path activity based on differential 18 O fractionation, root respiration, Northern and Southern blot analysis, PCR and real-time PCR, XRF, ICPMS, Western blot analysis of proteins. The laboratory is an integral part of the School of Plant Biology . The School also operates environmentally controlled plant-growth facilities PC2 certified walk-in growth chambers and phytotrons.

Group (laboratory) members and Areas of Research
RETURN TO TOP

Dr. Matt Denton (ARC-postdoc) expertise in exudation in Banksia species (Proteaceae)

Dr Michael Shane (postdoc) expertise in phosphate uptake, exudation and carbon metabolism of cluster roots of Hakea and Grevillea species (Proteaceae) and of Cyperaceae.

Dr Abu-Baker Siddique (ARC postdoc) molecular experience with phosphate uptake in Hakea and Lupinus .

Dr Erik Veneklaas (Lecturer) experience with exudation and phosphate acquisition in new legumes crops and Banksia species (Proteaceae).

Funding
RETURN TO TOP

Current

ARC grants:

  • The genus Banksia : can ecophysiological traits associated with nutrient acquisition explain species distribution and rarity?, ARC Discovery $246,000 (CI¹s H. Lambers and K.W. Dixon, 2002-2004)

  • Carboxylate exudation and phosphate nutrition in Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae), ARC Discovery $300,000 (CI H. Lambers, 2003-2005)

  • A unique Western Australian multi-photon confocal microscope facility to support nationally prioritised biomedical, biological and materials research, ARC Linkage Infrastructure Equipment Fund, $738,251 (CI¹s, B.J. Griffin , C.J. Sheppard, D.D. Sampson, D.J. Macey, J.T. Lambers, S. Hinckley, A.W. Everett, J.J.S. Kuo, P. Clode, L.D. Beazley, S.A. Dunlop, Dr B.A. Patterson, P.E. Rakoczy, Z. Rengel, T.G. St Pierre , A. V.an Riessen, 2004)

  • An ecophysiological analysis of the response to phosphate fertilizer of different lupin and pulse species, canola and wheat on phosphate-fixing soil: ARC Linkage, $240,000 (CI¹s H. Lambers, E.J. Veneklaas, M Bolland 2002-2004)

GRDC grant:

  • Increased benefits of phosphorus fertilizer through the use of new grain legumes: GRDC, $106,855 (CI¹s H. Lambers, E.J. Veneklaas, M Bolland 2001-2004)
Top Three
RETURN TO TOP

areas of knowledge

  1. Phosphate acquisition in Australian native species (Proteaceae and Cyperaceae) and crop legumes.
  2. Plant mineral nutrition
  3. Plant carbon metabolism and root exudation


technical skills

  1. plant respiration and root exudation
  2. plant water relations
  3. whole plant nutrient transport studies
Publications - Last 5 Years
RETURN TO TOP

  • Heliyantho, B., Veneklaas, E.J., Lambers , H. & Krauss, S.L. 2004. Preferential outcrossing in Banksia ilicifolia R. Brown (Proteaceae). Aust. J. Bot., submitted.

  • Shane, M.W. & Lambers , H. 2004 Cluster roots: A curiosity in context. Plant Soil, submitted

  • Villar, R., Marañón, T., Quero , J.L. & Lambers , H. 2004. Variation in growth rate of 20 Aegilops species (Poaceae) in the field: The importance of net assimilation rate or specific leaf area depends on the time scale. Plant, Cell Environ, submitted.

  • Poorter, H., Van Rijn, C.P.E., Vanhala, T.K., Verhoevn, K.J.F., De Jong, Y.E.M., Stam, P., & Lambers, H. & 2004. A genetic analysis of traits underlying fast- and slow-growth syndromes in Hordeum spontaneum . Oecologia, submitted.

  • Shane, M.W., Szota, C. & Lambers , H. 2004. A root trait accounting for the extreme phosphorus sensitivity of Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae) from a biodiversity hotspot. Plant, Cell Environ., in press.

  • Gawthray, G.R., Turner, S. & Lambers , H. & Veneklaas, E.J. 2004. Organic anion exudation into the rhizosphere differs for chickpea cultivars. Plant Soil, in press.

  • Lambers , H. 2004. Plant physiological ecology: where do we go next? In: La Ecofisiología Vegetal, una ciencia de síntesis (Plant Ecophysiology, a Synthesis Science), in press.

  • Kurimoto, K., Day, D.A., Lambers , H. & Noguchi, K. 2004. Effect of respiratory homeostasis on plant growth in cultivars of wheat and rice. Plant, Cell Environ., in press.

  • Shane, M.W., Cramer, M.D., Funayama-Noguchi, S., Millar, A.H. Day, D.A. & Lambers , H. 2004. Developmental physiology of cluster-root carboxylate synthesis and exudation in Hakea prostrata R.Br. (Proteaceae): expression of PEP-carboxylase and the alternative oxidase. Plant Physiol., in press .

  • Wouterlood, M., Cawthray, G.R., Scanlon, T.T., Lambers , H. & Veneklaas, E.J. 2004. Carboxylate concentrations in the rhizosphere of root tips of chickpea increase during plant development, but are not correlated with P supply. New Phytol., in press.

  • Bultynck, L., Ter Steege, M., Fiorani, F., Schortemeyer, N., Poot, P. & Lambers , H. 2004. From individual leaf elongation to whole shoot leaf area expansion: a comparison of three Aegilops and two Triticum species. Ann. Bot., in press

  • Shane, M.W. McCully, M. & Lambers , H. 2004. Tissue and cellular phosphorus storage during development of "phosphorus toxicity" in Hakea prostrata (Proteaceae). J. Exp. Bot., in press .

  • De Groot, C., Marcelis, L.F.M., Van den Boogaard & Lambers , H. 2003. Contrasting effects of N and P deprivation on the regulation of photosynthesis in tomato plants in relation to feedback limitation. J. Exp. Bot. 54: 1957-1967.

  • Bultynck, L. Fiorani, F., Van Volkenburgh, E. & Lambers , H 2003. Cellular basis of variation in leaf elongation rate between two Aegilops species. Funct. Plant Biol. 30: 425-432.

  • Lambers , H., Cramer, M.D., Shane, M.W., Wouterlood, M., Poot, P. &. Veneklaas, E.J. 2003 Structure and functioning of cluster roots and plant responses to phosphate deficiency. Plant Soil 248: ix-xix.

  • Poot, P. & Lambers , H. 2003. Responses to waterlogging and drainage of woody Hakea (Proteaceae) seedlings originating from contrasting habitats in south-western Australia . Plant Soil 253: 57-70.

  • Malik, I. , Colmer, T.D., Lambers , H. & Schortemeyer, M. 2003. Aerenchyma formation and radial O 2 loss along adventitious roots of wheat with only the apical root portion exposed to O 2 deficiency. Plant, Cell & Environ. 26: 1713-1722.

  • De Groot, C., Marcelis, L.F.M., Van den Boogaard, R., Kaiser, W.M. & Lambers , H. 2003. Interaction of nitrogen and phosphorus nutrition in determining growth. Plant Soil 248: 257-269.

  • Millenaar, F.F. & Lambers , H. 2003. The alternative oxidase; in vivo regulation and function. Plant Biol. 5: 2-15.

  • Veneklaas, E.J., Stevens J., Cawthray, G.R., Turner, S., Grigg, A.M. & Lambers , H. 2003. Chickpea and white lupin rhizosphere carboxylates vary with soil properties and enhance phosphorus uptake. Plant Soil 248: 187-197.

  • Shane, M.W., De Vos, M., De Roock, S., Cawthray, G.R. & Lambers, H. 2003. Effects of external phosphorus supply on internal phosphorus concentrations and the initiation, growth and exudation of cluster roots in Hakea prostrata R.Br. Plant Soil 248: 209-219 .

  • Shane, M.W., De Vos, M., De Roock & Lambers , H. 2003 . Shoot phosphorus status regulates cluster-root growth and citrate exudation in Lupinus albus grown with a divided root system. Plant Cell Environ. 26: 265-273.

  • Poot, P. & Lambers , H. 2003. Are trade-offs in allocation pattern and root morphology related to species abundance? A congeneric comparison between rare and common species in the SW Australian flora. J. Ecol. 91: 58-67.

  • Kraus, E., Voeten, M. & Lambers , H. 2002 Allelopathic and autotoxic interactions in selected populations of Lolium perenne L. grown in monoculture and mixed culture . Funct. Plant Biol. 29: 1465-1473.

  • De Groot, C., Marcelis, L.F.M., Van den Boogaard, R. & Lambers , H. 2002. Interactive effects of nitrogen and irradiance on growth and partitioning of dry mass and nitrogen in young tomato plants. Funct. Plant Biol. 29: 1319-1328.

  • Scheurwater, I., Koren, M., Lambers , H. & Atkin, O.K. 2002. The contribution of roots and shoots to whole plant nitrate reduction in fast- and slow-growing grass species. J. Exp. Bot. 53: 1635-1642.

  • Fiorani, F., Bögemann, G.M., Visser, E.J.W., Voesenek, L.A.C.J. & Lambers , H. 2002. Ethylene emission and responsiveness to applied ethylene vary among Poa species that inherently differ in leaf elongation rate. Plant Physiol. 129: 1382-1390 .

  • Nagel, O.W. & Lambers , H. 2002. Changes in the acquisition and partitioning of carbon and nitrogen in the gibberellin-deficient mutants A70 and W335 of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) . Plant Cell Environ. 25: 883-891.

  • Malik, A.I., Colmer , T.D., Lambers , H., Setter, T.L. & Schortemeyer , M. 2002. Short-term waterlogging has long-term effects on the growth and physiology of wheat. New Phytol. 153: 225-236.

  • Millenaar, F.F. Gonzàlez-Meler, M.A., Siedow, J.N., Wagner, A.M. & Lambers , H. 2002 Role of sugars and organic acids in regulating the concentration and activity of the alternative oxidase in Poa annua roots . J. Exp. Bot. 53: 1081-1088.

  • Lambers , H. Juniper, D., Cawthray, G.R., Veneklaas, E.J. & Martinez, E. 2002. The pattern of carboxylate exudation in Banksia grandis (Proteaceae) is affected by the form of phosphate added to the soil. Plant Soil 238: 111-122.

  • Lambers , H., Atkin, O.K. & Millenaar, F.F. 2002. Respiratory patterns in roots in relation to their functioning. In: Plant Roots: The Hidden Half. Y. Waisel, A. Eshel & U. Kafkaki (eds). Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York , 521-552.

  • De Groot, C., Marcelis, L.F.M., Van den Boogaard, R. & Lambers , H. 2001. Growth and dry mass partitioning in tomato as affected by phosphorus nutrition and light. Plant Cell Environ. 24: 1309-1317.

  • Malik, A.I., Colmer , T.D., Lambers , H. & Schortemeyer , M. 2001. Changes in physiological and morphological traits of roots and shoots of wheat in response to different depths of waterlogging . Aust. J. Plant Physiol. 28: 1121-1131.

  • Pyankov, V.I., Ivanov, L.A. & Lambers , H. 2001. Chemical composition of the leaves of plants with different ecological strategies from the boreal zone. Russian J. Ecol. 32: 221-229.

  • De Groot, C.C., Marcelis, L.F.M., Van de Boogaard, R. & Lambers , H. 2001. Regulation of growth by P and N supply in whole tomato plants . In: Plant Nutrition. Food Security and sustainability of Agro-ecosystems through Basic and Applied Research. W.J. Horst et al. (eds). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht . pp. 114-115.

  • De Vos, M., Shane, M.W., Cawthray, G.R., Veneklaas, E.J. & Lambers , H. 2001. Internal phosphorus concentration modifies the initiation, growth and functioning of cluster roots in Hakea prostrata R.Br. In: Plant Nutrition. Food Security and sustainability of Agro-ecosystems through Basic and Applied Research. W.J. Horst et al. (eds). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. pp. 578-579.

  • Roelofs, R .F.R., Rengel, Z., Cawthray, G.R., Dixon , K.W. & Lambers , H. 2001. Exudation of carboxylates in Australian Proteaceae: chemical composition . Plant Cell Environ. 24: 891-904.

  • Kraus, E. & Lambers , H. 2001 Leaf and root respiration of Lolium perenne selected for contrasting leaf respiration rates are affected by intra- and interpopulation interactions. Plant Soil 231: 264-274.

  • Millenaar, F.F., Fiorani, F., Gonzalez-Meler, M. Welschen, R., Ribas-Carbo, M., Siedow, J.N., Wagner, A.M. & Lambers , H. 2001. Regulation of alternative oxidase activity in six wild monocotyledonous species; an in vivo study at the whole root level. Plant Physiol. 126: 376-387.

  • Pyankov, V.I., Ivanov, L.A. & Lambers , H. 2001. Plant construction cost in the boreal species differing in their ecological strategies. Russian J. Plant Physiol. 48: 67-73.

  • Nagel, O.W., Konings, H. & Lambers , H. 2001. The influence of a reduced gibberellin biosynthesis and nitrogen supply on the morphology and anatomy of leaves and roots of tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.). Physiol. Plant. 111: 40-45.

  • Nagel, O.W., Konings, H. & Lambers , H. 2001. Growth rate and biomass partitioning of wildtype and low-gibberellin tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum ) plants at high and low supply of nitrogen. Physiol. Plant. 111: 33-39.

  • Atkin, O.K., Evans, J.R., Ball, M.C., Lambers, H. & Pons, T.L. 2000. Leaf respiration of snow gum in the light and dark. Interactions between temperature and irradiance. Plant Physiol. 122: 915-923.

  • Volder, A., Bliss, L.C. & Lambers , H. 2000. The influence of temperature and nitrogen source on the relative growth rates and nitrogen uptake rates of two polar desert species; Saxifraga caespitosa and Cerastium alpinum . Plant Soil 227: 139-148.

  • Bijlsma, R.J. & Lambers , H. 2000. A dynamic whole-plant model of integrated metabolism of nitrogen and carbon. 2. Balanced growth driven by C fluxes and regulated by signals from C and N substrate . Plant Soil 220: 71-87.

  • Bijlsma, R.J., Lambers , H. Kooijman, S.A.L.M. 2000. A dynamic whole-plant model of integrated metabolism of nitrogen and carbon. 1. Comparative ecological implications of ammonium-nitrate interactions. Plant Soil 220: 49-69.

  • Masarovicová, E., Welschen, R., Lux, A., Lambers , H. Argalasova, K., Brandsterova, E. & Caniova, A. 2000. Photosynthesis and biomass partitioning of Karwinskia species in response to nitrogen supply. Physiol. Plant. 108: 300-306.

  • Van Rijn, C., Heersche, I., Van Berkel, Y., Nevo, E., Lambers , H. & Poorter, H. 2000. Variation in physiological, morphological and chemical growth characteristics in 21 Hordeum spontaneum populations from contrasting habitats in Israel . New Phytol. 146: 471-481.

  • Fiorani, F.F., Beemster, G.T.S., Bultynck, L. & Lambers , H. 2000. The cellular basis of inherent variation in leaf size and leaf elongation rate in four Poa species: a kinematic study of cell division and cell expansion. Plant Physiol. 124: 845-855.

  • Scheurwater, I. , Dünnebacke, M., Eising, R. & Lambers , H. 2000. Respiratory costs and rate of protein turnover in the roots of a fast- and a slow-growing grass species. J. Exp. Bot. 51: 1089-1097.

  • Mata, C., Van Vemde, N., Clarkson, D.T., Martins-Loucao, M.A. & Lambers , H. 2000. Influx, efflux and net uptake of nitrate in Quercus suber seedlings. Plant Soil 221: 25-32.

  • Masarovicová, E., Welschen, R., Lux, A., Mikus, M. & Lambers , H. 2000. The response of perennial teosinte Zea diploperennis (Poaceae) to nitrate availability. Maydica 45: 13-19.

  • Millenaar, F.F., Roelofs, R., Gonzàlez-Meler, M.A., Siedow, J.N. Wagner, A.M. & Lambers , H. 2000. The alternative oxidase during low-light conditions. Plant J. 23: 623-632.

  • Nuruzzaman, M., Lambers , H., Bolland, M.D.A. & Veneklaas, E.J. 2004. Phosphorus benefits of different legume crops to subsequent wheat grown in different soils of Western Australia . Plant Soil, in press.

  • Simons, B.H. & Lambers , H. 1999. The alternative oxidase: is it a respiratory pathway allowing a plant to cope with stress? In: Plant Responses to Environmental Stresses: From Phytohormones to Genome Reorganization. H.R. Lerner (ed.) Plenum Press, New York , pp. 265-286.

  • Drake, B.G., Azcon-Bieto, J., Berry, J., Bunce, J., Dijkstra, P., Farrar, J., Gifford, R.M., Gonzàlez -Meler, M.A., Koch, G., Lambers , H., Siedow, J. & Wullschleger, S. 1999. Does elevated atmospheric CO 2 concentration inhibit mitochondrial respiration in green plants? Plant Cell Environ. 22: 649-657.

  • Chaerle, L., Van Caeneghem, W., Messens, E., Lambers , H., Van Montagu, M. & Van der Straeten, D. 1999. Pre-symptomatic visualisation of plant-virus interactions by thermography. Nature Biotechnology 17: 813-816.

  • K. L. Fiorani, F. & Lambers , H. 1999. Control of leaf growth and is role in determining variation in plant growth rate from an ecological perspective framework . Plant Biol. 1: 13-18.

  • Scheurwater, I. , C larkson, D.T., Purves, J., Van Rijt, G., Saker, L., Welschen, R. & Lambers , H. 1999. Relatively large nitrate efflux can account for the high specific respiratory costs for nitrate transport in slow-growing grass species. Plant Soil 215: 123-134.

  • Pilon, J.J., Lambers, H., Baas, W., Tosserams, M., Rozema, J. & Atkin, O.K. 1999. Leaf waxes of slow-growing alpine and fast-growing lowland Poa species: Inherent differences and response to UV-B radiation. Phytochemistry 50: 571-580.

  • Simons, B.H., Millenaar, F.F., Mulder, L., Van Loon, L.C. & Lambers , H. 1999. Enhanced expression and activation of the alternative oxidase during infection of Arabidopsis thaliana with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato . Plant Physiol. 120: 529-538.

BOOKS

  • Lambers , H., Neeteson, J.J. & Stulen, I. (eds) 1986. Fundamental, Ecological and Agricultural Aspects of Nitrogen Metabolism in Higher Plants, Martinus Nijhof/Dr W. Junk, Dordrecht .

  • Lambers , H., Cambridge , M.L., Konings, H. & Pons, T.L. (eds) 1989. Causes and Consequences of Variation in Growth Rate and Productivity of Higher Plants. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague .

  • Jackson , M.B., Davies, D.D. & Lambers , H. (eds) 1991. Plant Life under Low Oxygen: Ecology, Physiology and Biochemistry. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague .

  • Lambers , H. & Van der Plas, L.H.W. (eds) 1992. Plant Respiration. Molecular, Biochemical and Physiological Aspects. SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague .

  • Rozema, J., Lambers , H., Van de Geijn, S.C. & Cambridge, M.L. (eds) 1992. CO 2 and Biosphere. Kluwer, Dordrecht .

  • Lambers , H., Chapin, F.S. III & Pons, T.L. 1998. Plant Physiological Ecology. Springer-Verlag , New York .

  • Lambers , H., Poorter, H. & Van Vuuren, M.M.I. (eds) 1998. Inherent Variation in Plant Growth. Physiological Mechanisms and Ecological Consequences . Backhuys, Leiden .

  • Lambers , H. & Poot, P. (eds) 2003. Structure and functioning of cluster roots and plant responses to phosphate deficiency. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht .

  • Lambers , H. & Ribas-Carbo, M. (eds) 2004. Plant respiration. From cell to ecosystem. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht , in press.

 

 

 

 

 

© COPYRIGHT TO THE AUSTRALIAN PLANT NUTRIOMICS NETWORK    |    DISCLAIMER/COPYRIGHT    |    RETURN TO TOP