[1H, 13C 15N and 31P NMR spectroscopy of plant seeds: possible applications].

We review here the recent achievements in high resolution NMR spectroscopy of four biologically most important nuclei (1H, 13C, 15N, 31P) applied on plant seeds in vivo or on extracts from the same tissue. Most often used nuclei in NMR analysis of seeds were protons (1H). The application of low resolution NMR for nondestructive analysis of moisture and oil in seeds had a long history--this was actually the only true nondestructive chemical analysis of genetic material. The combination of high resolution 1H NMR with magic angle sample spinning (MAS) enabled some authors to obtain a method for in vivo study of fatty acids composition of seed lipids. A promising technique for in vivo studies of biochemical composition and physiological processes in seeds is 13C NMR, particularly 1H-13C cross-polarization NMR combined with MAS technique. This enabled analysis of lipids in intact seeds, but also obtaining of high resolution spectra from the solid components of the seed matrix (starch, sugars, proteins). An interesting application of 13C NMR was monitoring the biochemical events following seed germination in vivo. Low natural ability of the NMR accessible 15N nucleus restricts the application of 15N NMR for in vivo seed analysis. Nevertheless, some sophisticated experiments combining double cross-polarization 15N/13C with the MAS technique were reviewed. 31P NMR is a promising technique in biological studies. Some recent achievements included detection of energetically important molecules of cells (ADP; ATP, oligosaccharides) as well as compartmentation of the inorganic phosphate (cytoplasmic, vacuolar). There were some indications of the studies made on intact seeds, but most of the 31P NMR work has been done on the extracts from seed material.