Kolby Jardine studies plant and microbial metabolism by working at the interface of biochemistry, ecology, and atmospheric sciences (Biochemical Ecology) and is a research scientist in the Ecology Department within the Climate & Ecosystem Sciences Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
The primary goal of the research is to develop a quantitative understanding of the integration of whole plant carbon, oxygen and energy metabolism (e.g. photosynthesis, photorespiration, respiration, and fermentation), water use (xylem transpiration and phloem transport), and cellular growth rates and their biological (genetic) and environmental (e.g. temperature, light, moisture, CO2) controls. Laboratory and field techniques include characterizing quantitative relationships between biochemical (e.g. metabolite concentrations and enzyme activity), optical (e.g. chlorophyll fluorescence and thermal imaging), plant (leaf, stem, root), rhizosphere (root-soil-microbe), and ecosystem gas-exchange fluxes of CO2, O2, H2O, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in order to characterize processes and metabolic mechanisms of potentially high global importance. This presents exciting opportunities for the development of new methods for the continuous local and global monitoring of the physiological, energetic, and oxidative status of plants and ecosystems and their associated cycling of carbon and water.
Key words
1. Leaf, stem, and root gas exchange with the atmosphere
2. Metabolism and transport of volatile organic compounds
3. Integration of carbon cycling and water use
4. Primary carbon, oxygen, and energy metabolism including photosynthesis, photorespiration, respiration, and fermentation
5. C1 and C2 metabolism in plants and microbes including plant-atmosphere and plant-rhizosphere interactions
6. Plant growth and responses to abiotic stress
By working across spatial (molecule to ecosystem) and temporal (seconds to seasons) scales, this research is aimed at developing a mechanistic understanding of key metabolic plant and microbial processes that remain poorly understood, but with a high potential global significance
Area of Interest
- Atmospheric Sciences
- Astronomical and Space Sciences
- Plant Biology
- Genetics
- Ecology
Education
- PhD|Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, United States
