The role of Solanaceae aquaporins in improving plant vigor, abiotic stress tolerance and yield production.

The regulatory role of aquaporins in controlling plant cell water permeability.

Developing a high-throughput automated screening system for the on-line collection and analysis of data from many plants simultaneously.  Pinpointing plants showing improved transpiration-use efficiency under normal and stress conditions at an early developmental stage.

Development of quantitative criteria to screen forest trees regarding their resistance to water deficiency and water-use efficiency.

The role of C3 bundle-sheath cells as the plant's first line of defense against embolisms and as a sensor for stress-induced ABA.