Long-distance transport of pertechnetate in the moonflower (Ipomoea alba)

The first research on the transport of metastable-technetium-99 (99mTc) in the form of pertechnetate (99mTcO4−) within plants suggested that 99mTcO4− may be mobile in the phloem. In contrast, more recent evidence indicates the anion is transported in the xylem. Here we demonstrate that observations of 99mTc transport in the test subject of these initial investigations, the moonflower (Ipomoea alba L.), are incompatible with phloem flow. Rather, the presence of only minute amounts of 99mTc in typical sinks for phloem solutes and 99mTc transport out of labeled leaves when shaded but not when illuminated strongly suggest that the radionuclide is transported in the xylem. The study increases confidence in the identification of 99mTcO4− as a xylem mobile compound whose distribution in plants can be visualized using nuclear medicine scintigraphic imaging techniques. - Highlights: ► The vascular transport pathway of metastable-technetium-99 in plants is not clear. ► Nuclear medicine techniques were used to obtain images of 99mTc in the moonflower. ► Translocation of the radionuclide is incompatible with transport by the phloem. ► 99mTc transport characteristics are those of a xylem-mobile nutrient analog. ► The research has implications for 99mTc as a tracer and modeling 99Tc uptake.