Session: Parallel session 8 - Plant and Food OMICS

Metabolomics Approach by High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry for Agronomy

Vincent CARRE¹, Marisa MAIA^1,2,3, Jasmine HERTZOG¹, Farès SLIMANI¹, Patrick CHAIMBAULT¹

¹Université de Lorraine, Laboratoire de Chimie et de Physique – Approche Multi-échelles des Milieux Complexes (LCP-A2MC), METZ, France
²Grapevine Pathogen Systems Lab (GPS Lab), Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI), Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
³Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande 016, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal

The study of plants is a subject of great fascination from a multitude of perspectives. In their natural environment, plants exist within a complex equilibrium with other abiotic systems, including microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. This dynamic equilibrium is characterized by a multitude of interactions that can result in the modification or synthesis of compounds with diverse properties, which have potential applications in medicine, agronomy, food production, and environmental protection.

In this context, metabolomic refers to the investigation of such small molecules linked to these complex interactions, including both primary and specialized metabolites. The application of a range of spectroscopic techniques offers a molecular description on these interactions. Mass spectrometry (MS), and particularly high-resolution MS (HRMS), is an unprecedented technique for metabolomic studies due to its high sensitivity, numerous mass descriptors highlighted and speed. A substantial quantity of metabolomic data is generated through the use of chromatography in conjunction with mass spectrometry (MS) and MS/MS of plant extracts. However, the identification of compounds involved in a given biotic interaction or linked to a specific chemical or physical stress of a plant remains a significant challenge. Direct HRMS analyses provide a distinctive and supplementary perspective. This non-targeted approach may be constrained by several limitations, but it provides an exceptional comprehensive view of metabolites, enabling numerous differences to be highlighted between experimental conditions.

During this presentation, a direct analysis by high-resolution mass spectrometry workflow will be described, including the data treatment. Various examples will illustrate the value of such an approach for plant metabolomic analyses, particularly in the context of grapevine. This will also integrate discussion on plant metabolomic analysis by imaging HRMS.