Acronym

CURE

Abstract

CURE studies whether plants can take up their own root exudates, focusing on the organic acids citrate and malate. These compounds help plants acquire nutrients such as phosphorus and iron but require a large investment of carbon and energy. The project will investigate if barley and Arabidopsis thaliana reabsorb these compounds, how this changes under phosphorus and iron deficiency and during plant development, and what happens to the absorbed molecules inside the plant. Using stable isotope tracers, metabolomics, and transporter mutants, CURE will reveal the mechanisms and role of exudate reuptake. The results could improve nutrient use efficiency, reduce fertilizer demand, and support the development of more sustainable and resilient cropping systems.

Principal Investigator

Raphael Tiziani

Co-Investigator

Tanja Mimmo

Project Team

Fabio Trevisan

External project partners

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Funding Type

Funded by the Province of Bozen-Bolzano / 6th call for Research

Start and end date

1 Sept 2026
31 Aug 2029