The Groups > Dr Wen-Hao Zhang
 

Dr Wen-Hao Zhang
Research Fellow
Dept of Wine and Horticulture
Plant Research Centre
The University of Adelaide  

Personal Website Address:
Email: wen-hao.zhang@adelaide.edu.au

Research Aims
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The Big Question

  • What are the functions of ion channels in adaptations of plants to abiotic stress ?

The short-term goals

  • Characterize citrate-permeable anion channels in cluster roots of white lupin.
  • Determine the roles of turgor in nutrient transfer in developing legume seeds.
  • Determine the roles of anion channels in tolerance of wheat to aluminium.

Significant contributions to this research field

My research has mainly focused on the study of membrane-mediated solute and water transport as well as cytoplasmic Ca 2+ -related transduction of environmental signals. My contributions are unique in terms of applying cutting edge technologies to understand fundamental physiological processes that closely relate to nutrient transport and plant tolerance to stressed environments. I have undertaken a number of highly competitive Australian Research Council funded projects, and made excellent achievements for each project as judged by publishing my research findings in high impact journals such as Plant Journal , Plant Physiology and Planta .

  • First to demonstrate existence of functional water channels (aquaporins) in plasma membrane of plant cells at cellular level using pressure probe technique, and found that downward regulation of water channel activity could account for the reduced water permeability of root cells under hypoxia (Zhang and Tyerman 1991, 1999).

  • Developed a novel non-invasive method to load Ca 2+ -sensitive fluorescence probes into intact plant cells (Zhang et al. 1998). This loading method has overcome the problems associated with extracellular hydrolysis of esters of ion-selective dyes by intact plant cells, and has been widely used for delivering ion-selective fluorescent dyes into intact plant cells for measuring and mapping cytoplasmic Ca 2+ activity of plant cells.

  • Provided unambiguous experimental evidence showing that disruption of cytoplasmic Ca 2+ -homeostasis is a primary cause of aluminium toxicity in plants (Zhang and Rengel 1999). This work has led to an invited Tansley review for New Phytologist (Rengel and Zhang, 2003).

  • Identified an aluminium-activated malate-permeable and cAMP-dependent K + efflux channels in protoplasts derived from aluminium tolerant wheat root tips (Zhang et al. 2001). These findings provide unambiguous evidence to support the notation that activation of ion channels in plasma membranes of root cells is a critical event for plants tolerant to aluminium.

  • Identified a non-selective channel in plasma membranes of bean seed coat unloading cells (Zhang et al., 2002). This channel that exhibits unique characteristics in terms of its selectivity, activation kinetics and pharmacology is believed to play an important role in mediation of phloem-imported nutrients from seed coats to the seed apoplasm for accumulation by cotyledons.

Main areas of expertise
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Top three areas of knowledge

  1. Electrophysiology of plant cells
  2. Cellular water relations
  3. Ca 2+ -dependent signaling
Top three Technical skills
  1. Patch-clamp
  2. Pressure probe
  3. Confocal laser scanning microscopy
Publications
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  • Zhang WH , Walker NA, Patrick JW & Tyerman SD. 2004. Calcium - dependent K + -permeable current in plasma membranes of dermal cells of developing bean cotyledons . Plant Cell Environment 27: 251-262.

  • Zhang WH , Walker NA, Patrick JW & Tyerman SD. 2003. Pulsing Cl - channels in coat cells of developing bean seeds linked to hypoosmotic turgor regulation. Journal of Experimental Botany 55: (in press)

  • Rengel Z & Zhang WH . (2003). Role of dynamics of intracellular calcium in aluminium toxicity syndrome. New Phytologist 159: 295-314.

  • Zhang WH , Skerrett M, Walker NA, Patrick JW & Tyerman SD. (2002). Non-selective currents and channels in plasma membrane of coat cells in developing Phaseolus vulgaris L. seeds . Plant Physiology 128: 388-399.

  • Zhang WH , Ryan PR & Tyerman SD. (2001). Malate-permeable channels and cation channels activated by aluminium in the apical cells of wheat root roots. Plant Physiology 125: 1459-1472.

  • Patrick JW, Zhang WH , Tyerman SD, Offler CE & Walker NA. (2001). Role of membrane transport in phloem translocation of assimilates and water . Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 28: 695 - 707.

  • Zhang WH , Walker NA, Tyerman SD & Patrick JW. (2000). Fast-activation of time-dependent outward current in plasma membrane of ground parenchyma protoplasts derived from coats of developing Phaseolus vulgaris seeds. Planta 211:894-898.

  • Walker NA, Zhang WH , Holdways N, Harrigton G & Patrick, JW. (2000). Effluxes of solutes from developing seed coats of Phaseolus vulgaris L. & Vicia faba L.: locating the effects of turgor in a coupled chemisosmotic system. Journal of Experimental Botany 52:1037-1045.

  • Zhang WH , Rengel Z, Kuo J & Yang G. (1999). Effects of aluminium on pollen germination and pollen tube growth of Chamelaucium uncinatum: Comparison with other Ca2+channel antagonists . Annals of Botany 84:559-564.

  • Zhang WH & Tyerman SD. (1999). Inhibition of water channels in intact wheats root cells by H . Plant Physiology 120: 849-858

  • Zhang WH & Rengel Z. (1999). Aluminium induces an increase in cytoplasmic Ca2+ in intact wheat roots . Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 26: 401-409.
Ten Career Best Publications
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  1. Zhang WH and Tyerman SD. 1991. Effect of low O 2 concentration and azide on hydraulic conductivity and osmotic volume of the cortical cells of wheat roots . Australian Journal of Plant Physiology 18 : 603-613.

  2. Zhang WH , Atwell JB, Patrick JW and Walker NA. 1996. Turgor-dependent assimilates efflux from coats of developing Phaseolus vulgaris L. seeds: Water relations of the cells involved in efflux. Planta 119: 25-33.

  3. Zhang WH , Walker NA, Patrick JW and Tyerman 1997. Mechanisms of solute efflux from seed coats: Whole - cell K + current in transfer cell protoplasts derived from seed coats of developing Vicia seeds . Journal of Experimental Botany 48: 1565-1572 .

  4. Zhang WH , Rengel Z and Kuo J. 1998. Determination of intracellular Ca 2+ in cells of intact wheat roots: loading of acetoxymethy ester of Fluo-3 under low temperature. The Plant Journal 15: 147-151 .

  5. Zhang WH and Tyerman SD. 1999. Inhibition of water channels by Hg 2 + in intact wheats root cells . Plant Physiology 1 20: 849-858.

  6. Zhang WH , Ryan PR and Tyerman SD. 2001. Malate-permeable channels and cation channels activated by aluminium in the apical cells of wheat roots. Plant Physiology 125: 1459-1472.

  7. Zhang WH , Skerrett M, Walker NA, Tyerman SD and Patrick JW. 2002. Non-selective cation channels and currents in protoplasts derived from coats of developing seeds of bean. Plant Physiology 122: 388-399.

  8. Rengel Z and Zhang WH . 2003. Role of dynamics of intracellular calcium in aluminium-toxicity syndrome. New Phytologist 159: 295-314.

  9. Zhang, WH , Walker NA, Patrick JW and Tyerman SD. 2004. Ca 2+ -dependent K + current in dermal cells of developing bean cotyledons. Plant Cell and Environment 27: 251-262

  10. Zhang WH , Walker NA, Patrick JW and Tyeman SD. 2003. Pulsing Cl - channels in coats of developing bean seeds linked to hypo-osmotically-induced turgor regulation. Journal of Experimental Botany 55: (in press).

 

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