HIGH-RESOLUTION MEASUREMENTS IN PLANT BIOLOGY

You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Use of mass spectrometry for imaging metabolites in plants

  1. Young Jin Lee1,2,
  2. David C. Perdian3,
  3. Zhihong Song2,4,
  4. Edward S. Yeung1,2,
  5. Basil J. Nikolau2,4,*

Article first published online: 27 MAR 2012

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.04899.x

Issue

The Plant Journal

The Plant Journal

Special Issue: High-resolution Measurements in Plant Biology

Volume 70, Issue 1, pages 81–95, April 2012

Additional Information

How to Cite

Lee, Y. J., Perdian, D. C., Song, Z., Yeung, E. S. and Nikolau, B. J. (2012), Use of mass spectrometry for imaging metabolites in plants. The Plant Journal, 70: 81–95. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2012.04899.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

  2. 2

    Ames Laboratory, US DOES, Ames, IA 50011, USA

  3. 3

    Department of Natural Science, Broward College, Coconut Creek, FL 33066, USA

  4. 4

    Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

* (fax +1 515 294 0453; e-mail dimmas@iastate.edu).

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 27 MAR 2012
  2. Article first published online: 27 MAR 2012
  3. Received 27 October 2011; revised 17 December 2011; accepted 29 December 2011.

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (512K)

Keywords:

  • mass-spectrometry;
  • imaging;
  • metabolites;
  • metabolomics;
  • high-spatial resolution

Summary

We discuss and illustrate recent advances that have been made to image the distribution of metabolites among cells and tissues of plants using different mass spectrometry technologies. These technologies include matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization, desorption electrospray ionization, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. These are relatively new technological applications of mass spectrometry and they are providing highly spatially resolved data concerning the cellular distribution of metabolites. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each of these mass spectrometric methods, and provide a description of the technical barriers that are currently limiting the technology to the level of single-cell resolution. However, we anticipate that advances in the next few years will increase the resolving power of the technology to provide unprecedented data on the distribution of metabolites at the subcellular level, which will increase our ability to decipher new knowledge concerning the spatial organization of metabolic processes in plants.

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (512K)