Imaging corn plants with PhytoPET, a modular PET system for plant biology

PhytoPET is a modular positron emission tomography (PET) system designed specifically for plant imaging. The PhytoPET design allows flexible arrangements of PET detectors based on individual standalone detector modules built from single Hamamatsu H8500 position sensitive photomultiplier tubes and pixelated LYSO arrays. We have used the PhytoPET system to perform preliminary corn plant imaging studies at the Duke University Biology Department Phytotron. Initial evaluation of the PhytoPET system to image the biodistribution of the positron emitting tracer ¹¹C in corn plants is presented. ¹¹CO₂ is loaded into corn seedlings by a leaf-labeling cuvette and translocation of ¹¹C-sugars is imaged by a flexible arrangement of PhytoPET modules on each side. The PhytoPET system successfully images ¹¹C within corn plants and allows for the dynamic measurement of ¹¹C-sugar translocation from the leaf to the roots.