Ryan Tappero

Brookhaven National Laboratory

National Synchrotron Light Source II
Bldg. 743
P.O. Box 5000
Upton, NY 11973-5000

(631) 344-5245
rtappero@bnl.gov

Expertise | Research | Education | Appointments | Publications

Expertise

Ryan is a Research Soil Scientist/Chemist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island in New York.  He is responsible for the X-ray Fluorescence Microprobe (XFM) Beamline at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) and leads a research program in rhizosphere biogeochemistry and plant-microbe interactions.

Ryan conducts applied and fundamental research in Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. His research focuses on the chemistry of nutrients in soil and the rhizosphere (plant-soil interface) and the interactions between soil (micro)organisms and higher plants that are relevant to climate (i.e., carbon sequestration) and energy (i.e., biofuels). Ryan is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Geosciences at the Stony Brook University. He also holds an adjunct faculty appointment in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware and serves on the external advisory committee for the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN).

Research Activities

The Rice of the Future: How growing practices can decrease human exposure to toxins (A. Seyfferth and R. Tappero, Co-Principle Investigators); Brookhaven National Laboratory- University of Delaware Seed Grant.

Molecular Mechanisms of Plant-Mycorrhizal-Decomposer Interactions and Impacts on Terrestrial Biogeochemistry (J. Bhatnagar, Principle Investigator); Department of Energy – Biological and Environmental Research (Systems Biology Enabled Research on the Roles of Microbiomes in Nutrient Cycling Processes).

Development of a Full-Field X-ray Fluorescence Imaging System for Near Real-Time Trace Element Microanalysis in Complex Biological Systems (R. Tappero, Principle Investigator); Department of Energy – Biological and Environmental Research (Bioimaging Research and Approaches for Bioenergy and the Environment).

Education

Ph.D., Soil Physical Chemistry.  2008.  University of Delaware, Newark, DE.  Donald L. Sparks, advisor.

M.Sc., Soil Chemistry (Summa cum laude).  2003.  California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. CA.  Thomas A. Ruehr (deceased), advisor.

B.Sc., Soil Science (Summa cum laude).  2001.  California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA.  Thomas A. Ruehr (deceased), advisor.

Professional Appointments

Assistant Adjunct Professor, University of Delaware, Plant and Soil Sciences Dept., Newark, DE.

External Advisory Board for the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN), Newark, DE.

Research Associate Professor, Stony Brook University, Department of Geosciences, Stony Brook, NY.

Selected Publications

• Chia J-C, Yan J, Rahmati Ishka M, et al (2023) Loss of OPT3 function decreases phloem copper levels and impairs crosstalk between copper and iron homeostasis and shoot-to-root signaling in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koad053
• Babst BA, Braun DM, Karve AA, et al (2022) Sugar loading is not required for phloem sap flow in maize plants. Nature Plants 8:171–180. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01098-x
• Linam F, Limmer MA, Tappero R, Seyfferth AL (2022) Rice husk and charred husk amendments increase porewater and plant Si but water management determines grain As and Cd concentration. Plant and Soil. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-022-05350-3
• Tappero R, Liao H-L (Sunny), Bhatnagar J, et al (2021) Non-reductive, ligand-promoted dissolution is responsible for enhanced weathering of ferric (oxy)hydroxides in the Pine (mycor)rhizosphere. Goldschmidt2021 abstracts. https://doi.org/10.7185/gold2021.8246
• Zhang K, Tappero R, Ruytinx J, et al (2021) Disentangling the role of ectomycorrhizal fungi in plant nutrient acquisition along a Zn gradient using X-ray imaging. Science of The Total Environment 801:149481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149481
• Lee S, Lee J, Ricachenevsky FK, et al (2021) Redundant roles of four ZIP family members in zinc homeostasis and seed development in Arabidopsis thaliana. The Plant Journal 108:1162–1173. https://doi.org/10.1111/tpj.15506
• Seyfferth AL, Limmer MA, Tappero R (2021) A Method to Preserve Wetland Roots and Rhizospheres for Elemental Imaging. Journal of Visualized Experiments. https://doi.org/10.3791/62227
• Kopittke PM, Punshon T, Paterson DJ, et al (2018) Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Fluorescence Microscopy as a Technique for Imaging of Elements in Plants. Plant Physiology 178:507–523. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.18.00759