Our group is interested in the role of ion channels and ion transporters in mineral nutrition and interactions of the plant with symbiotic microorganisms (ectomycorrhizae, nitrogen-fixing rhizobia, plant growth promoting rhizobacteria).

The model organisms are the ectomycorrhizal fungus Hebeloma cylindrosporum in interaction with the pine Pinus pinaster, the legume Medicago truncatula in interaction with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia Sinorhizobium melilotti, and the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in interaction with plant growth promoting rhizobacteria.

The developed strategies include molecular and cell biology, reverse genetics, electrophysiology and whole plant biology.

The objective is to describe physiological functions and roles of the involved transport systems and to get an integrative view of their contribution to the plant mineral nutrition, root symbioses and adaptation to environmental conditions.