This open access book is only an introduction to show that radiation and
radioisotopes (RI) are premier tools to study living plant physiology
which leads to new findings. Who had ever imagined that we could see
water in a plant? Who had ever imagined that we could see ions moving
toward roots in solution? Who had ever imagined that we could see
invisible gas (CO2) fixation and movement in a plant? These
studies demonstrated for the first time that water, ions and gas can be
visualized in living plants, which could be hardly seen by anyone
before. This publication summarizes the results obtained by Nakanishi's
lab in The Univ. of Tokyo, based on her original concept and her
original tools or systems. It is useful for professional scientists,
plant physiologist, and those studying plant imaging.
The chapters demonstrates the innovative imaging work of the author,
using radioactive tracers and neutron beam to follow the absorption and
transport manner of water as well as major, minor, and trace elements in
plants. Through these studies the author developed a real-time
macroscopic and microscopic imaging system able to apply commercially
available gamma- and beta-ray emitters. The real-time movement of the
elements is now possible by using 14C, 18F,
22Na, 28Mg, 32P, 33P,
35S, 42K, 45Ca, 48V,
54Mn, 55Fe, 59Fe, 65Zn,
86Rb, 109Cd, and 137Cs. The imaging
methods was applied to study the effect of 137Cs following
3/11 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident, which has revealed the
movements of radiocesium in the contaminated sites.
