The spatial variability of the mineral composition of grapevines in production vineyards along the east Adriatic coastwas determined and compared between conventional and sustainable vineyard management. Cluster analysis shows a high level of spatial variability evenwithin the individual locations. Factors with strong impact on the mineral composition are for the macronutrients K and P and the micronutrient Mn. Important part of the variance of these three elements can be explained by abiotic and biotic soil parameters, with soil concentrations of K, Fe and Cu, organic matter content, and vesicular colonisation showing the strongest effects on themineral composition of the grapevines. In addition, analysis of the mineral composition data shows significant differences between differently managed vineyards, with increased bioaccumulation of P and K in sustainable vineyards, while Zn bioaccumulation was increased in conventional vineyards. Our data confirm the importance of soil and vineyard management in the concept of terroir, and demonstrate the effects of sustainable management practices on the mineral nutrition of grapevines that result from modified nutrient availability related to changes in the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the soil.
F.04 Increase of the technological level
COBISS.SI-ID: 3238479Micro-PIXE became a technique of choice in tissue elemental mapping in the cases, where high elemental sensitivity and high lateral resolution need to be combined with a quantitative nature of the elemental analysis. Preparation of biological tissues for micro-PIXE analysis is a dedicated process, which dominantly determines the quality of the results. Shock-freezing, slicing and freeze-drying of the tissues are most frequently used in the research of processes in complex organisms. Recent results on research in a plant biology, nanotoxicology and ecology at JSI will be presented. In conclusion, mapping of frozen hydrated plant tissues with micro-PIXE offers significantly improved reliability of the results by avoiding freeze-drying related tissue distortion, but is not without obstacles.
B.04 Guest lecture
COBISS.SI-ID: 26322727The research of the impact of Cd on mineral nutrition and metabolism of carbohydrates at Thlaspi praecox has shown that the plant responds differently to different concentrations of Cd and various Cd salts, while higher concentrations impact negatively on plant growth and the content of photosynthetic pigments. Various Cd salts mainly affect the distribution of Cd at the cellular level and the relationship between O and S ligands. CdCl2 promotes accumulation of Cd in the vacuoles mesophilic cells and CdSO4 in the cell wall. Cd uptake caused disturbances in the content and distribution of essential nutrients, while it mainly affected micronutrients. The largest changes in plant ionome and vegetative response was observed in plants that were grown in the absence of Ca and Fe, and with the addition of Cd. Exposure of plants to Cd induced changes in carbohydrate metabolism. Acute exposure to Cd induced retention of starch in the shoots. Chronic exposure to Cd induced retention of sucrose in shoots and roots, which coincided with decreased activity of enzymes for the degradation of sucrose. At the tissue level, smaller and rounder palisade mesophyll cells in leaves of plants, which have been exposed to Cd, were noted. In this area, we also found an increase in the contribution of total carbohydrate, more specifically the basic structural carbohydrates such as cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, and non-structural carbohydrate starch.
D.09 Tutoring for postgraduate students
COBISS.SI-ID: 785783The Laboratory of Plant Physiology, at The Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia is part of an international consortium which seeks to reveal the secrets behind the composition of elements in plant tissue. In this fascinating discussion, the partners outline the cutting-edge technology propelling this exciting field forward. By studying the structure and constitution of plants, scientists try to understand how they work. State-of-the-art imaging technologies reveal the spatial biochemical make-up of plants through visualising the elemental and molecular information present in plants at all levels of organisation. The bioimaging techniques developed by the consortium have applications in applied plant sciences, where it assists in the refinement of agricultural, food and bioremediation practices. Equipped with this ability to merge elemental, molecular and morphological information, the consortium is in a position to advise other scientists and students as well as public and private organisations about the applications of their work. As such, they hold regular multidisciplinary workshops to spread the latest news and information about cutting-edge instrumentation and plant nutrient related enquiries
F.11 Development of a new service
COBISS.SI-ID: 2862159Mapping plant ionome allows for the connection between plant genome, ionome and physical landscape. Signatures of elemental composition are therefore of vital importance for the studies of environmental and developmental changes in plants as a consequence of plant interactions with biotic or abiotic environment. The analyses of selected plant species from differing environments allows us to unravel undelying mechanisms that govern final element compositon in plants. The acquered knowledge can than be used to produce plant species with desired elemental composition, as one of the primary goals of food and agricultural sciences. Trend is to shift from conventional to organic production of plants used for food, which can be substantially improved by introduction of beneficial soil microorganisms. It is also important to present this novel production approaches to non-scientific communities and build global public awareness and acceptability of the new approaches in plant production.
B.06 Other
COBISS.SI-ID: 2977359