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ePaper created 2012-09-28, 09:46:25 | version 1.24.0
Research in Jülich 2|201222 Potatoes in the Scanner L eeks, potatoes, onions – this sounds like the recipe for a tasty soup or a hearty stew. Jülich plant researchers at the Institute of Bio- and Geosciences, however, are not interest- ed in peeling or chopping them. In fact, quite the opposite is true: they want to understand what exactly is going on in- side these plants – while they are grow- ing and without destroying them. This is possible with methods that are normally employed in medical engineer- ing: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). MRI is used in medicine to visual- ize different types of tissue, but also lends itself to shedding light upon the in- ner structure of plants. It even allows in- sights into the growth of roots below the surface. PET provides information on the transport of photosynthesis products in- side plants. Three years ago, Jülich re- searchers were the first to perform com- bined measurements with MRI and PET in plant research. Thanks to this technol- ogy, it is now possible to assign meta- bolic processes clearly to defined types of tissue in plants. For example, MRI- PET measurements show exactly where plants incorporate carbon and how this changes in different types of soil or un- der changing climatic conditions. One of the goals is to utilize plants more effec- tively as suppliers of useful substances. For this purpose, it is necessary to un- derstand their properties in greater de- tail, for example in order to select plants that yield good crops even during dry periods or that get by with a smaller amount of nutrients (fertilizer). :: 1 2 3 4