Sanders’ first significant finding during his PhD was to provide unequivocal evidence that inorganic anion uptake in plants is powered by a proton gradient[4] and showed how transport is regulated through intracellular ion concentrations.
[5] In subsequent research as a post-doc at Yale University School of Medicine he pioneered the first methods to measure and interpret the interplay between control of intracellular pH and activity of the plasma membrane proton pump.
The Sanders lab demonstrated a key link between changes in cytosolic free calcium and photosynthetic activity, and through many technical developments showed how membrane transport at the plant vacuole is energised and regulated in response to physiological demand.
[10] He also adapted electrophysiological techniques first developed for exploration of neuronal channel properties to determine that pumps at vacuolar membranes exhibit kinetic responses to ion gradients that would not be predicted through biochemical means.
[14] Using both electrophysiological and biochemical approaches, Sanders was able to establish for the first time in plants that metabolites can act as triggers for release of calcium (a cellular signal) from vacuoles.
[15][16][17][18][19][20] Sanders established principles for biofortification of cereal crops with essential human mineral nutrients,[21] and molecularly characterised calcium permeable channels.
[39] In 2010 Sanders moved to the John Innes Centre, Norwich, as director and group leader,[40] establishing new collaborations with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.