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JXB Advance Access published online on July 4, 2005
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/eri224
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© The Author [2005]. Published by Oxford University Press [on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology]. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received December 22, 2004
Accepted May 12, 2005

RESEARCH PAPER

In vivo 13C NMR metabolite profiling: potential for understanding and assessing conifer seed quality

Victor V. Terskikh 1, J. Allan Feurtado 1, Shane Borchardt 2, Michael Giblin 3, Suzanne R. Abrams 3, and Allison R. Kermode 1*

1 Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
2 Department of Chemistry, University of Saskatchewan, 110 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5C9, Canada
3 Plant Biotechnology Institute, National Research Council of Canada, 110 Gymnasium Place, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0W9, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Allison R. Kermode, E-mail: kermode{at}sfu.ca


  Abstract

High-resolution 13C MAS NMR spectroscopy was used to profile a range of primary and secondary metabolites in vivo in intact whole seeds of eight different conifer species native to North America, including six of the Pinaceae family and two of the Cupressaceae family. In vivo 13C NMR provided information on the total seed oil content and fatty acid composition of the major storage lipids in a non-destructive manner. In addition, a number of monoterpenes were identified in the 13C NMR spectra of conifer seeds containing oleoresin; these compounds showed marked variability in individual seeds of Pacific silver fir within the same seed lot. In imbibed conifer seeds, the 13C NMR spectra showed the presence of considerable amounts of dissolved sucrose presumed to play a protective role in the desiccation-tolerance of seeds. The free amino acids arginine and asparagine, generated as a result of storage protein mobilization, were detected in vivo during seed germination and early seedling growth. The potential for NMR to profile metabolites in a non-destructive manner in single conifer seeds and seed populations is discussed. It is a powerful tool to evaluate seed quality because of its ability to assess reserve accumulation during seed development or at seed maturity; it can also be used to monitor reserve mobilization, which is critical for seedling emergence.

Keywords: Amino acids; conifer seeds; germination; imbibition; in vivo 13C NMR spectroscopy; metabolite profiling; monoterpenes; storage lipids; sucrose.
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V. V. Terskikh, Y. Zeng, J. A. Feurtado, M. Giblin, S. R. Abrams, and A. R. Kermode
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