Idoia Ariz Arnedo

For many years I have been involved in the study of C/N metabolism responses in plants to ammonium nutrition and abiotic stress conditions using pea plants as model system which is agronomically important, using physiological, biochemical, enzymatic and molecular skills.

As the ureic fertilizers are closely linked to ammonium nutrition, I am also interested in the urease inhibitors characterization. These inhibitors are commonly added to the new ammonium-based fertilizers. The study of urease inhibitors effects on plant physiology and N metabolism using pea, wheat, spinach plants, etc.

Finally, there is a subject of whom I have become a passionate in the three last years: the study of the natural isotopic composition as a means of study of plant physiology (nitrogen metabolism). The study of the relationship among the natural nitrogen isotopic signature, the ammonium/ammonia toxicity and the ammonium/ammonia transport in plants and others organisms (i.e. yeast and Chlamydomona algae).

I currently collaborate with the Biology of membrane Transport laboratory (IBMM) leaded by Dr. Anna M. Marini, from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, and with the Molecular Plant Nutrition group, headed by Prof. Nicolaus von Wirén from the Leibniz-Institute for Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, IPK Gatersleben, Germany. Both are pioneering European research groups in the study of ammonium transport systems in organisms (e.g. yeast, mammals and plants).

Thus, my current research is driven by three overarching objectives:

1. Establishment of the potential use of δ15N as indicator of the N status in organisms (plants and yeast cells) grown under various environmental conditions.
2. Development of tools based on this indicator, δ15N, for determining the degree of sensitivity to ammonium/ammonia in living organisms.
3. Establishment of key relationship/network between metabolic traits, ammonium transport mechanisms and plant δ15N as a 3D-indicator of plant sensitivity to ammonium