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NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF HERBARIUM MATERIAL FOR TAXONOMIC STUDIES USING NMR IMAGING

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2001

D. MASSON
Affiliation:
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK Present address: Department of Chemistry, University Science Laboratories, South Road, Durham DH1 3EL, UK
S. M. GLIDEWELL
Affiliation:
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
M. MÖLLER
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK
R. R. MILL
Affiliation:
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, UK
B. WILLIAMSON
Affiliation:
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK
R. M. BATEMAN
Affiliation:
Department of Botany, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Abstract

Many taxonomic distinctions are made or refined on the basis of herbarium material that is either dried or preserved in spirit medium. Hitherto, examination of internal structure has only been possible by the destructive sectioning of the preserved material. In this paper, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging for the non-destructive, non-invasive, complete three-dimensional structural examination of herbarium material is demonstrated for the first time. The experimental materials were the fruiting structures of two species of Southern Hemisphere Podocarpaceae: Acmopyle pancheri and Podocarpus nivalis. Material dried in accordance with standard herbarium techniques was used, as well as material preserved in spirit and freshly gathered fruits. The dried material was subsequently rehydrated using standard techniques, and protocols established for the specimens. Appropriate selection of NMR imaging parameters allowed a variety of anatomical features to be highlighted on a single specimen. Fresh specimens from living material gave the best NMR signals. Dry specimens gave no signal except from the lipid in the seed, but when rehydrated the images yielded almost as much information about internal structure as did a fresh specimen of the same taxon. Thus, NMR imaging has great potential value as a non-invasive method for obtaining details of the internal structure of fruits and seeds and is particularly useful when, as in the case of Acmopyle, the sclerotesta of the seed is too lignified for sectioning by conventional methods.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© Copyright 2001 Trustees of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh

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