Real-time analysis of photoassimilate translocation in intact eggplant fruit using CO and a positron-emitting tracer imaging system

Kikuchi, Kaori*; Ishii, Satomi; Fujimaki, Shu; Suzui, Nobuo; Matsuhashi, Shimpei; Honda, Ichiro*; Shishido, Yoshihiro*; Kawachi, Naoki

To clarify the mechanism of growth and development of the fruit of eggplant,COwas fed to a leaf and the translocation of C-labeled photoassimilate into the fruit was monitored by PETIS. Continuous images of the translocation of C-photoassimilate from the leaf to the fruit were successfully made, with a shorter time resolution than ever reported before. The PETIS images indicated that translocation of photoassimilate within the fruit was not uniform. The velocity of photoassimilate translocation in the peduncle and the changes in the rate of translocation of photoassimilate in the fruit were estimated by analysis of the PETIS data. The advantages of PETIS measurements in physiological studies of source sink relationships are discussed.