Development of a [sup.14]C detectable real-time radioisotope imaging system for plants under intermittent light environment

• Published in: Journal of radioanalytical and nuclear chemistry Vol. 296; no. 1; p. 417
• Main Authors: Hirose, A, Yamawaki, M, Kanno, S, Igarashi, S, Sugita, R, Ohmae, Y, Tanoi, K, Nakanishi, T.M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 01.04.2013
• Subjects: Imaging systems; Photosynthesis; Plant physiology; Sulfates
• ISSN: 0236-5731; 1588-2780
• DOI: 10.1007/s10967-012-2130-2

A new real-time radioisotope imaging system (RRIS) to study the kinetics of nutrient uptake and transfer of photosynthetic products in a living plant was developed and evaluated through a test run. [sup.14]C is a common radioisotope of carbon and useful to trace the photosynthetic products as well as a low energy beta emitter. The rationale of this study was to develop a RRIS that has the ability to detect low energy beta emitters, such as [sup.14]C, [sup.35]S, and [sup.45]Ca. To achieve compatibility between the detection of low energy beta emitters and irradiation of the test plant, an intermittent lighting system was added to the RRIS. Furthermore, a commercially available digital camera was added to the RRIS for acquisition of photographic images of the test plants. The capabilities of the new RRIS were evaluated through a test run by using seedlings of rice plants and [sup.35]S-labeled sulfate. It was shown that the new RRIS was able to detect [sup.35]S absorbed by rice plant seedlings, and it was able to acquire photon-counting images and photographic images of the test plants simultaneously. Despite some limitations, the new RRIS provides a means to study the kinetics of elements in plants by utilizing low energy beta emitters. Keywords Autoradiography * Photosynthetic products * Plant biology * Carbon-14 * Sulfur-35 * Noninvasive measurement