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Title: In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner

Abstract

Although important aspects of whole-plant carbon allocation in crop plants (e.g., to grain) occur late in development when the plants are large, techniques to study carbon transport and allocation processes have not been adapted for large plants. Positron emission tomography (PET), developed for dynamic imaging in medicine, has been applied in plant studies to measure the transport and allocation patterns of carbohydrates, nutrients, and phytohormones labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes. However, the cost of PET and its limitation to smaller plants has restricted its use in plant biology. Here we describe the adaptation and optimization of a commercial clinical PET scanner to measure transport dynamics and allocation patterns of 11C-photoassimilates in large crops. Based on measurements of a phantom, we optimized instrument settings, including use of 3-D mode and attenuation correction to maximize the accuracy of measurements. To demonstrate the utility of PET, we measured 11C-photoassimilate transport and allocation in Sorghum bicolor, an important staple crop, at vegetative and reproductive stages (40 and 70 days after planting; DAP). The 11C-photoassimilate transport speed did not change over the two developmental stages. However, within a stem, transport speeds were reduced across nodes, likely due to higher 11C-photoassimilate unloading in the nodes. Photosynthesis inmore » leaves and the amount of 11C that was exported to the rest of the plant decreased as plants matured. In young plants, exported 11C was allocated mostly (88 %) to the roots and stem, but in flowering plants (70 DAP) the majority of the exported 11C (64 %) was allocated to the apex. Our results show that commercial PET scanners can be used reliably to measure whole-plant C-allocation in large plants nondestructively including, importantly, allocation to roots in soil. This capability revealed extreme changes in carbon allocation in sorghum plants, as they advanced to maturity. Further, our results suggest that nodes may be important control points for photoassimilate distribution in crops of the family Poaceae. In conclusion, quantifying real-time carbon allocation and photoassimilate transport dynamics, as demonstrated here, will be important for functional genomic studies to unravel the mechanisms controlling phloem transport in large crop plants, which will provide crucial insights for improving yields.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ;
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1618602
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1263483
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC02- 98CH10886; MO094; AC02-98CH10886
Resource Type:
Journal Article: Published Article
Journal Name:
BMC Plant Biology
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: BMC Plant Biology Journal Volume: 15 Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1471-2229
Publisher:
Springer Science + Business Media
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English
Subject:
47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION; Carbon allocation; Positron emission tomography (PET); Transport; Imaging; Carbon-11 (11C)

Citation Formats

Karve, Abhijit A., Alexoff, David, Kim, Dohyun, Schueller, Michael J., Ferrieri, Richard A., and Babst, Benjamin A. In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. United Kingdom: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1186/s12870-015-0658-3.
Karve, Abhijit A., Alexoff, David, Kim, Dohyun, Schueller, Michael J., Ferrieri, Richard A., & Babst, Benjamin A. In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-015-0658-3
Karve, Abhijit A., Alexoff, David, Kim, Dohyun, Schueller, Michael J., Ferrieri, Richard A., and Babst, Benjamin A. 2015. "In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-015-0658-3.
@article{osti_1618602,
title = {In vivo quantitative imaging of photoassimilate transport dynamics and allocation in large plants using a commercial positron emission tomography (PET) scanner},
author = {Karve, Abhijit A. and Alexoff, David and Kim, Dohyun and Schueller, Michael J. and Ferrieri, Richard A. and Babst, Benjamin A.},
abstractNote = {Although important aspects of whole-plant carbon allocation in crop plants (e.g., to grain) occur late in development when the plants are large, techniques to study carbon transport and allocation processes have not been adapted for large plants. Positron emission tomography (PET), developed for dynamic imaging in medicine, has been applied in plant studies to measure the transport and allocation patterns of carbohydrates, nutrients, and phytohormones labeled with positron-emitting radioisotopes. However, the cost of PET and its limitation to smaller plants has restricted its use in plant biology. Here we describe the adaptation and optimization of a commercial clinical PET scanner to measure transport dynamics and allocation patterns of 11C-photoassimilates in large crops. Based on measurements of a phantom, we optimized instrument settings, including use of 3-D mode and attenuation correction to maximize the accuracy of measurements. To demonstrate the utility of PET, we measured 11C-photoassimilate transport and allocation in Sorghum bicolor, an important staple crop, at vegetative and reproductive stages (40 and 70 days after planting; DAP). The 11C-photoassimilate transport speed did not change over the two developmental stages. However, within a stem, transport speeds were reduced across nodes, likely due to higher 11C-photoassimilate unloading in the nodes. Photosynthesis in leaves and the amount of 11C that was exported to the rest of the plant decreased as plants matured. In young plants, exported 11C was allocated mostly (88 %) to the roots and stem, but in flowering plants (70 DAP) the majority of the exported 11C (64 %) was allocated to the apex. Our results show that commercial PET scanners can be used reliably to measure whole-plant C-allocation in large plants nondestructively including, importantly, allocation to roots in soil. This capability revealed extreme changes in carbon allocation in sorghum plants, as they advanced to maturity. Further, our results suggest that nodes may be important control points for photoassimilate distribution in crops of the family Poaceae. In conclusion, quantifying real-time carbon allocation and photoassimilate transport dynamics, as demonstrated here, will be important for functional genomic studies to unravel the mechanisms controlling phloem transport in large crop plants, which will provide crucial insights for improving yields.},
doi = {10.1186/s12870-015-0658-3},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1618602}, journal = {BMC Plant Biology},
issn = {1471-2229},
number = 1,
volume = 15,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Mon Nov 09 00:00:00 EST 2015},
month = {Mon Nov 09 00:00:00 EST 2015}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record at https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-015-0658-3

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 23 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Figures / Tables:

Fig. 1 Fig. 1: Experimental set up of sorghum for PET imaging using a commercial clinical PET scanner. a Schematic of the 11CO2 administration and imaging system developed for large grasses. b Side view of a 70 day-old- plant used in one of the experiments, the black rectangular box in the picturemore » is the LED light panel used to ensure consistent illumination of the leaf cuvette. c A reconstructed PET image of 11C distribution in 70 day-old- sorghum-plant. d PET image shown in c with ROIs drawn to measure 11C-allocation to different tissues« less

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Works referencing / citing this record:

Photosynthate Regulation of the Root System Architecture Mediated by the Heterotrimeric G Protein Complex in Arabidopsis
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Dissecting metabolic flux in C4 plants: experimental and theoretical approaches
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Figures/Tables have been extracted from DOE-funded journal article accepted manuscripts.