Deep spatial metabolomics for confidential molecular identification
EMSL Project ID
60675
Abstract
This project will improve metabolite identification of plant systems and microbial communities by employing an LC separation for every coordinate probed. Current imaging techniques for metabolite spatial profiling at EMSL use high-resolution mass analyzers such as Orbitrap and FTICR-MS (Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry) that allow highly accurate mass measurements, which can assign a molecular formula to a peak accurately. Yet they lack the orthogonal information such as fragmentation or retention time for confident molecular identification. Therefore, to improve metabolome coverage and identification at the spatial scale, we propose to add an LC separation step prior to detection. The setup with the LC separation will provide both a fragmentation spectrum and retention time, which will ensure confident identification of metabolites present in a specific location. The LC separation will also reduce the sample complexity and alleviate matrix effects during ionization, to maximize molecular identification and better define the spatial metabolome from the EMSL user samples. The most requested EMSL user samples for spatial analyses are microbial communities on solid agar and plant organs (leaf, root, stem), therefore in this proposal we focus on development of our approach on those two systems.
Project Details
Start Date
2023-01-20
End Date
2023-08-26
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members