Metabolic imaging in living plants: A promising field for chemical exchange saturation transfer (CEST) MRI

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.

Plant phenotyping relevance

植物の生体内代謝を非侵襲的に測定するCEST-MRI法を確立し、複数手法で検証しており、植物表現型取得法が研究の中心である。

Code and data availability

The paper reports CEST MRI phenotyping of plant metabolites, but no public dataset, image, code, or model deposit is provided. Data availability states all data are in the paper/Supplementary Materials, and plant material is available only upon request via material transfer agreement. Custom MATLAB scripts are not made

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