Metabolic Imaging in Living Plants: A Promising Field for Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer (CEST) MRI

Overview

Journal Sci Adv

Specialties Biology
Science

Date 2024 Sep 18

PMID 39292788

Authors

Simon Mayer

Hardy Rolletschek

Volodymyr Radchuk

Steffen Wagner

Stefan Ortleb

Andre Gundel

Klaus J Dehmer

Fabian T Gutjahr

Peter M Jakob

Ljudmilla Borisjuk

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a versatile technique in the biomedical field, but its application to the study of plant metabolism in vivo remains challenging because of magnetic susceptibility problems. In this study, we report the establishment of chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) for plant MRI. This method enables noninvasive access to the metabolism of sugars and amino acids in complex sink organs (seeds, fruits, taproots, and tubers) of major crops (maize, barley, pea, potato, sugar beet, and sugarcane). Because of its high signal detection sensitivity and low susceptibility to magnetic field inhomogeneities, CEST analyzes heterogeneous botanical samples inaccessible to conventional magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The approach provides unprecedented insight into the dynamics and distribution of sugars and amino acids in intact, living plant tissue. The method is validated by chemical shift imaging, infrared microscopy, chromatography, and mass spectrometry. CEST is a versatile and promising tool for studying plant metabolism in vivo, with many applications in plant science and crop improvement.

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