Positron emission tomography detector development for plant biology

There are opportunities for the development of new tools to advance plant biology research through the use of radionuclides. Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Duke University, West Virginia University and the University of Maryland are collaborating on the development of radionuclide imaging technologies to facilitate plant biology research. Biological research into optimizing plant productivity under various environmental constraints, biofuel and carbon sequestration research are areas that could potentially benefit from new imaging technologies. Using ¹¹CO₂ tracers, the investigators at Triangle University Nuclear Laboratory / Duke University Phytotron are currently researching the dynamical responses of plants to environmental changes forecasted from increasing greenhouse trace gases involved in global change. The biological research primary focus is to investigate the impact of elevated atmospheric CO₂ and nutrients limitation on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in plants. We report here on preliminary results of ¹¹CO₂ plant imaging experiments involving barley plants using Jefferson Lab dual planar positron emission tomography detectors to image ¹¹CO₂ in live barley plants. New detector designs will be developed based on the preliminary studies reported here and further planned.