Radio-labeling carbon in plants?

Question

How could you do this?

Do you radio-label carbon in fertilizer?

I thought plants get CO2 from atmosphere?

Can that be labeled?

Can you measure its transfer from plant to animals by mass spectrometry?

Answer 1

I can't think of any fertilizers that contain carbon.  Plants get this from the CO2 in the atmosphere.  If you want to track the uptake of fertilizers through the food chain, I think you'd need to custom build a fertilzer, first.

Then, would your results be valid, since your mechanism is completely artificial?

Answer 2

Use C-14 labelled CO2.

Yes.