Prev. Article Next Article Table of Contents

Article

Applications of Metabolomics in Agriculture

Richard A. Dixon,^† David R. Gang,^‡ Adrian J. Charlton,^§ Oliver Fiehn,^# Harry A. Kuiper, Tracey L. Reynolds, Ronald S. Tjeerdema, Elizabeth H. Jeffery, J. Bruce German,^× William P. Ridley,* and James N. Seiber

Plant Biology Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, 2510 Sam Noble Parkway, Ardmore, Oklahoma 73401; Department of Plant Sciences and Bio5 Institute, 303 Forbes Building, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85721-0036; Central Science Laboratory, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Sand Hutton, York YO411LZ, United Kingdom; Genome Center, University of CaliforniaDavis, Health Science Drive, Davis, California 95616; RIKILT Institute of Food Safety, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Bornsesteeg 45, 6708PD Wageningen, The Netherlands; Monsanto Company, 800 North Lindbergh Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63167; Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of CaliforniaDavis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616-8588; Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois, 905 South Goodwin Avenue, Urbana, Illinois 61081; Department of Food Science and Technology, University of CaliforniaDavis, Cruess Hall, One Shields Avenue, Davis, California 95616-8598; and Western Regional Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 Buchanan Street, Albany, California 94710

J. Agric. Food Chem., 2006, 54 (24), pp 8984–8994

DOI: 10.1021/jf061218t

Publication Date (Web): November 4, 2006

†

Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.

‡

University of Arizona.

Central Science Laboratory.

Genome Center, University of California.

Wageningen University.

Monstanto Co.

Department of Environmental Toxicology, University of California.

University of Illinois.

Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California.

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed [telephone (314) 694-8441; fax (314) 694-8562; e-mail william.p.ridley@monsanto.com].

U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Abstract

Biological systems are exceedingly complex. The unraveling of the genome in plants and humans revealed fewer than the anticipated number of genes. Therefore, other processes such as the regulation of gene expression, the action of gene products, and the metabolic networks resulting from catalytic proteins must make fundamental contributions to the remarkable diversity inherent in living systems. Metabolomics is a relatively new approach aimed at improved understanding of these metabolic networks and the subsequent biochemical composition of plants and other biological organisms. Analytical tools within metabolomics including mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy can profile the impact of time, stress, nutritional status, and environmental perturbation on hundreds of metabolites simultaneously resulting in massive, complex data sets. This information, in combination with transcriptomics and proteomics, has the potential to generate a more complete picture of the composition of food and feed products, to optimize crop trait development, and to enhance diet and health. Selected presentations from an American Chemical Society symposium held in March 2005 have been assembled to highlight the emerging application of metabolomics in agriculture.

Keywords: Metabolomics; mass spectrometry; nuclear magnetic resonance; metabolic pathways; food; environmental safety; nutrition

View: Full Text HTML | Hi-Res PDF