11. Spatially Resolved Plant Metabolomics

Summary

Primary and secondary metabolism of plants are segregated amidst many differentiated and specialized plant organs, tissues, cells and organelles. The specialized physiology of anatomically distinct components contribute to highly sophisticated, autotrophic systems that are foundational to global energy, ecology, biology and nutrition. An established literature base exists for focused studies of metabolism in specific organs, tissue, cells, and this literature is briefly reviewed here. However, modern metabolic studies are moving towards more global metabolite analyses (i.e. metabolomics and systems biology) with high anatomical, spatial and temporal resolution to better understand the massive complexity of plant systems. Several current examples of such spatially resolved metabolomics experiments are provided here, and the current prospects of metabolite imaging reviewed. Although current metabolomics approaches have been quite informative, they are still constrained by multiple factors. The major challenges that still face plant metabolomics are metabolite annotation, depth-of-coverage or comprehensiveness, instrumental sensitivity and dynamic range. These plant metabolomics challenges are discussed in general and relative to temporally and spatially resolved metabolomics.