A large international team of researchers led by Meisha Holloway-Phillips and other PPE members Ansgar Kahmen, Daniel Nelson, Selina Hugger and Jochem Baan recently published a comprehensive Tansley Review in New Phytologist, which redefines how hydrogen isotopes in plant carbohydrates can be used to study plant C metabolism and performance. The paper, “Rethinking the ²H fingerprint of carbohydrates: a novel proxy for plant metabolism and performance,” brings together decades of work across plant physiology and isotope biogeochemistry to outline how hydrogen isotopes in carbohydrates can serve as a powerful, flux-based proxy for primary carbon metabolism.

This review was a community-driven effort, featuring contributions from more than 20 co-authors representing institutions across Europe, Australia, and North America, which synthesized the theoretical, methodological and empirical advances that have transformed the field. The paper traces how the interpretation of hydrogen isotope variation has shifted over time from a primarily hydroclimatic focus toward a deeper understanding of metabolic processes shaping plant function, and outlines the next steps to continuing to advance the metabolic proxy.

Link to publication: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.70845