Flip-flop method: A new T1-weighted flow-MRI for plants studies.

• Main Authors: Simon Buy, Simon Le Floch, Ning Tang, Rahima Sidiboulenouar, Michel Zanca, Patrick Canadas, Eric Nativel, Maida Cardoso, Eric Alibert, Guillaume Dupont, Dominique Ambard, Christophe Maurel, Jean-Luc Verdeil, Nadia Bertin, Christophe Goze-Bac, Christophe Coillot
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2018-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC5875807?pdf=render

The climate warming implies an increase of stress of plants (drought and torrential rainfall). The understanding of plant behavior, in this context, takes a major importance and sap flow measurement in plants remains a key issue for plant understanding. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) which is well known to be a powerful tool to access water quantity can be used to measure moving water. We describe a novel flow-MRI method which takes advantage of inflow slice sensitivity. The method involves the slice selectivity in the context of multi slice spin echo sequence. Two sequences such as a given slice is consecutively inflow and outflow sensitive are performed, offering the possiblility to perform slow flow sensitive imaging in a quite straigthforward way. The method potential is demonstrated by imaging both a slow flow measurement on a test bench (as low as 10 μm.s-1) and the Poiseuille's profile of xylemian sap flow velocity in the xylematic tissues of a tomato plant stem.