Biophysics of xylem embolism repair

Water stress caused embolism in plants is responsible for dramatic loss of hydraulic transport capacity and loss of productivity or death. Thus refilling of embolized conduits is a basic physiological process that can assure competitive edge, and plant’s longevity. However, process of refilling may have to occur while majority of water in the plant remains under tension and it seems to defy principles of thermodynamics. Experimental studying of the process remains very difficult and it is scatted across multiple disciplines such as physics, physiology and molecular biology, while a comprehensive understanding of the process is still at large. In my lab, we study xylem refilling under tension using biological and physical approaches that has a potential to solve this physiological mystery.