23Na and 1H NMR Microimaging of Intact Plants

✍ Scribed by Silvia Olt; Eva Krötz; Ewald Komor; Markus Rokitta; Axel Haase

• Book ID: 102601324
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 391 KB
• Volume: 144
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1090-7807
• DOI: 10.1006/jmre.2000.2076

✦ Synopsis

23 Na NMR microimaging is described to map, for the first time, the sodium distribution in living plants. As an example, the response of 6-day-old seedlings of Ricinus communis to exposure to sodium chloride concentrations from 5 to 300 mM was observed in vivo using 23 Na as well as 1 H NMR microimaging. Experiments were performed at 11.75 T with a double resonant 23 Na-1 H probehead. The probehead was homebuilt and equipped with a climate chamber. T 1 and T 2 of 23 Na were measured in the cross section of the hypocotyl. Within 85 min 23 Na images with an in-plane resolution of 156 ؋ 156 m were acquired. With this spatial information, the different types of tissue in the hypocotyl can be discerned. The measurement time appears to be short compared to the time scale of sodium uptake and accumulation in the plant so that the kinetics of salt stress can be followed. In conclusion, 23 Na NMR microimaging promises great potential for physiological studies of the consequences of salt stress on the macroscopic level and thus may become a unique tool for characterizing plants with respect to salt tolerance and salt sensitivity.