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Structural anisotropy in celery stalks by microscopic MRI and polarized light microscopy
Sarah Salem1, Farid Badar1, Amanveer Singh1
1Department of Physics and Center for Biomedical Research, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
Magnetic Resonance Letters
|June 1, 2026
Summary
Celery
Area of Science:
- Plant biology
- Biophysics
- Materials science
Background:
- Structural anisotropy in plants influences mechanical properties.
- Microscopic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (μMRI) and Polarized Light Microscopy (PLM) offer insights into plant tissue structure.
- Understanding tissue-level anisotropy is crucial for plant biomechanics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the structural anisotropy of celery stalks.
- To correlate tissue microstructure with nuclear spin relaxation properties.
- To evaluate celery as a model organism for studying anisotropic biological tissues.
Main Methods:
- Utilized microscopic MRI (μMRI) to measure T2 anisotropy.
- Employed quantitative polarized light microscopy (PLM) for optical resolution imaging.
- Analyzed parenchyma and collenchyma tissues within celery stalks.
Main Results:
- Parenchyma (50-90 μm diameter) exhibited isotropic T2 relaxation.
- Collenchyma (8-12 μm diameter) displayed significant anisotropic T2 relaxation.
- Vascular structures (phloem, xylem) showed less clear anisotropy due to size variations and tissue heterogeneity within μMRI voxels.
Conclusions:
- Celery's distinct tissue types show varying degrees of structural anisotropy.
- T2 anisotropy is linked to the microstructure of plant tissues.
- Celery serves as a valuable model for exploring microstructure-nuclear spin relaxation relationships in fibrous, porous biological materials.
