Noninvasive NMR studies of metabolism in cultured Catharanthus roseus cells

Summary Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy provides a unique modality for the study of tissue-cultured plant cells. One of its major attractions is that it allows noninvasive studies of plant material. In addition, it can provide insight into the pH in the vacuole and cytoplasm, and into the compartmentalization of certain metabolites. In this review we show how phosphorus-31 NMR is used to study intracellular pH, phosphate uptake and storage, and energy metabolism in suspension cells of Catharanthus roseus. In addition, multinuclear NMR studies of the uptake of ammonium and the gradients of K⁺ over the membrane are discussed as well. The use of two-dimensional NMR for the study of whole cell extracts is also described. Finally, we show how nitrogen-14 and nitrogen-15 NMR are used to obtain information about the assimilation of inorganic sources in developing carrot somatic embryos. These NMR studies provide a unique insight into the metabolism of tissue-cultured plant cells.