The Plant Physiology Laboratory at CNRC

A better understanding of how nutrients are absorbed from plant foods can help scientists improve the nutritional quality of food crops and positively impact human nutrition. At the CNRC, the Plant Physiology Laboratory and plant growth facilities cover 2,200 square feet. The CNRC is unique in having a plant program situated in a human nutrition facility. Plant scientists collaborate with other nutritional scientists by growing and “labeling” food plants like peas, green beans, spinach, broccoli, collard and rice with traceable, non-radioactive stable isotopes. The “labeled” plants are grown in specially designed hydroponics systems or gas atmosphere chambers. These are used to introduce non-radioactive isotopes or heavier versions of some common elements such as calcium, hydrogen, iron, and nitrogen, which are easily traced using special instrumentation. The “labeled” plants are used in human or animal feeding trials to study nutrient uptake and subsequent metabolism.

Scientists using the Plant Physiology Laboratory investigate basic questions in plant mineral nutrition in order to improve human diets and ultimately human health. Understanding how plants obtain minerals, how different minerals move through the plant, and how they accumulate in edible plant parts (e.g., seeds and leaves) can help scientists improve the nutritional quality of plant foods.