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Chen L, Zhang Y, Hao Q, Fu J, Bao Z, Bu Y, Sun N, Wu X, Lu L, Kong Z, Qin L, Zhou Y, Jing Y, Wang X. Enhancement of in situ detection and imaging of phytohormones in plant tissues by MALDI-MSI using 2,4-dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzoic acid as a novel matrix. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2024. [PMID: 39014531 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Phytohormones possess unique chemical structures, and their physiological effects are regulated through intricate interactions or crosstalk among multiple phytohormones. MALDI-MSI enables the simultaneous detection and imaging of multiple hormones. However, its application for tracing phytohormones is currently restricted by low abundance of hormone in plant and suboptimal matrix selection. 2,4-Dihydroxy-5-nitrobenzoic acid (DHNBA) was reported as a new MALDI matrix for the enhanced detection and imaging of multiple phytohormones in plant tissues. DHNBA demonstrates remarkable sensitivity improvement when compared to the commonly used matrix, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), in the detection of isoprenoid cytokinins (trans-zeatin (tZ), dihy-drozeatin (DHZ), meta-topolin (mT), and N6-(Δ2-isopentenyl) adenine (iP)), jasmonic acid (JA), abscisic acid (ABA), and 1-aminocyclo-propane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) standards. The distinctive properties of DHNBA (i.e. robust UV absorption, uniform matrix deposition, negligible background interference, and high ionization efficiency of phytohormones) make it as an ideal matrix for enhanced detection and imaging of phytohormones, including tZ, DHZ, ABA, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), and ACC, by MALDI-MSI in various plant tissues, for example germinating seeds, primary/lateral roots, and nodules. Employing DHNBA significantly enhances our capability to concurrently track complex phytohormone biosynthesis pathways while providing precise differentiation of the specific roles played by individual phytohormones within the same category. This will propel forward the comprehensive exploration of phytohormonal functions in plant science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lulu Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Yue Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Qichen Hao
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Jinxiang Fu
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Zhibin Bao
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yufen Bu
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Na Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xinyuan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Liang Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Zhaosheng Kong
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Liang Qin
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yijun Zhou
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yanping Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, College of Biological Sciences and Technology, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- National Engineering Research Center of Tree Breeding and Ecological Restoration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
- The Tree and Ornamental Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xiaodong Wang
- College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Centre for Imaging & Systems Biology, Minzu University of China, Beijing, 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Mass Spectrometry Imaging and Metabolomics (Minzu University of China), State Ethnic Affairs Commission, Beijing, 100081, China
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Dannhorn A, Kazanc E, Flint L, Guo F, Carter A, Hall AR, Jones SA, Poulogiannis G, Barry ST, Sansom OJ, Bunch J, Takats Z, Goodwin RJA. Morphological and molecular preservation through universal preparation of fresh-frozen tissue samples for multimodal imaging workflows. Nat Protoc 2024:10.1038/s41596-024-00987-z. [PMID: 38806741 DOI: 10.1038/s41596-024-00987-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
The landscape of tissue-based imaging modalities is constantly and rapidly evolving. While formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material is still useful for histological imaging, the fixation process irreversibly changes the molecular composition of the sample. Therefore, many imaging approaches require fresh-frozen material to get meaningful results. This is particularly true for molecular imaging techniques such as mass spectrometry imaging, which are widely used to probe the spatial arrangement of the tissue metabolome. As high-quality fresh-frozen tissues are limited in their availability, any sample preparation workflow they are subjected to needs to ensure morphological and molecular preservation of the tissues and be compatible with as many of the established and emerging imaging techniques as possible to obtain the maximum possible insights from the tissues. Here we describe a universal sample preparation workflow, from the initial step of freezing the tissues to the cold embedding in a new hydroxypropyl methylcellulose/polyvinylpyrrolidone-enriched hydrogel and the generation of thin tissue sections for analysis. Moreover, we highlight the optimized storage conditions that limit molecular and morphological degradation of the sections. The protocol is compatible with human and plant tissues and can be easily adapted for the preparation of alternative sample formats (e.g., three-dimensional cell cultures). The integrated workflow is universally compatible with histological tissue analysis, mass spectrometry imaging and imaging mass cytometry, as well as spatial proteomic, genomic and transcriptomic tissue analysis. The protocol can be completed within 4 h and requires minimal prior experience in the preparation of tissue samples for multimodal imaging experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Dannhorn
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Digestion, Metabolism and Reproduction, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Emine Kazanc
- Department of Digestion, Metabolism and Reproduction, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Lucy Flint
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Fei Guo
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
- Safety Innovations, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Alfie Carter
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
- Safety Innovations, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Andrew R Hall
- Safety Innovations, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | - Stewart A Jones
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Simon T Barry
- Bioscience, Discovery, Oncology R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Josephine Bunch
- National Centre of Excellence in Mass Spectrometry Imaging (NiCE-MSI), National Physical Laboratory, Teddington, UK
| | - Zoltan Takats
- Department of Digestion, Metabolism and Reproduction, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Richard J A Goodwin
- Imaging and Data analytics, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK.
- Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
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Chadha R, Guerrero JA, Wei L, Sanchez LM. Seeing is Believing: Developing Multimodal Metabolic Insights at the Molecular Level. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2024; 10:758-774. [PMID: 38680555 PMCID: PMC11046475 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.3c01438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
This outlook explores how two different molecular imaging approaches might be combined to gain insight into dynamic, subcellular metabolic processes. Specifically, we discuss how matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, which have significantly pushed the boundaries of imaging metabolic and metabolomic analyses in their own right, could be combined to create comprehensive molecular images. We first briefly summarize the recent advances for each technique. We then explore how one might overcome the inherent limitations of each individual method, by envisioning orthogonal and interchangeable workflows. Additionally, we delve into the potential benefits of adopting a complementary approach that combines both MSI and SRS spectro-microscopy for informing on specific chemical structures through functional-group-specific targets. Ultimately, by integrating the strengths of both imaging modalities, researchers can achieve a more comprehensive understanding of biological and chemical systems, enabling precise metabolic investigations. This synergistic approach holds substantial promise to expand our toolkit for studying metabolites in complex environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahuljeet
S Chadha
- Division
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 United States
| | - Jason A. Guerrero
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, Santa Cruz, Santa
Cruz, California 95064 United States
| | - Lu Wei
- Division
of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California
Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125 United States
| | - Laura M. Sanchez
- Department
of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University
of California, Santa Cruz, Santa
Cruz, California 95064 United States
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Balasubramanian VK, Veličković D, Rubio Wilhelmi MDM, Anderton CR, Stewart CN, DiFazio S, Blumwald E, Ahkami AH. Spatiotemporal metabolic responses to water deficit stress in distinct leaf cell-types of poplar. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1346853. [PMID: 38495374 PMCID: PMC10940329 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1346853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
The impact of water-deficit (WD) stress on plant metabolism has been predominantly studied at the whole tissue level. However, plant tissues are made of several distinct cell types with unique and differentiated functions, which limits whole tissue 'omics'-based studies to determine only an averaged molecular signature arising from multiple cell types. Advancements in spatial omics technologies provide an opportunity to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to WD stress at distinct cell-type levels. Here, we studied the spatiotemporal metabolic responses of two poplar (Populus tremula× P. alba) leaf cell types -palisade and vascular cells- to WD stress using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI). We identified unique WD stress-mediated metabolic shifts in each leaf cell type when exposed to early and prolonged WD stresses and recovery from stress. During water-limited conditions, flavonoids and phenolic metabolites were exclusively accumulated in leaf palisade cells. However, vascular cells mainly accumulated sugars and fatty acids during stress and recovery conditions, respectively, highlighting the functional divergence of leaf cell types in response to WD stress. By comparing our MALDI-MSI metabolic data with whole leaf tissue gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolic profile, we identified only a few metabolites including monosaccharides, hexose phosphates, and palmitic acid that showed a similar accumulation trend at both cell-type and whole leaf tissue levels. Overall, this work highlights the potential of the MSI approach to complement the whole tissue-based metabolomics techniques and provides a novel spatiotemporal understanding of plant metabolic responses to WD stress. This will help engineer specific metabolic pathways at a cellular level in strategic perennial trees like poplars to help withstand future aberrations in environmental conditions and to increase bioenergy sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vimal Kumar Balasubramanian
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, United States
| | - Dušan Veličković
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, United States
| | | | - Christopher R. Anderton
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, United States
| | - C. Neal Stewart
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
- Center for Agricultural Synthetic Biology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, United States
| | - Stephen DiFazio
- Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, United States
| | - Eduardo Blumwald
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Amir H. Ahkami
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA, United States
- Adjoint Faculty, School of Biological Science (SBS), Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, WA, United States
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5
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Veličković M, Wu R, Gao Y, Thairu MW, Veličković D, Munoz N, Clendinen CS, Bilbao A, Chu RK, Lalli PM, Zemaitis K, Nicora CD, Kyle JE, Orton D, Williams S, Zhu Y, Zhao R, Monroe ME, Moore RJ, Webb-Robertson BJM, Bramer LM, Currie CR, Piehowski PD, Burnum-Johnson KE. Mapping microhabitats of lignocellulose decomposition by a microbial consortium. Nat Chem Biol 2024:10.1038/s41589-023-01536-7. [PMID: 38302607 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01536-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
The leaf-cutter ant fungal garden ecosystem is a naturally evolved model system for efficient plant biomass degradation. Degradation processes mediated by the symbiotic fungus Leucoagaricus gongylophorus are difficult to characterize due to dynamic metabolisms and spatial complexity of the system. Herein, we performed microscale imaging across 12-µm-thick adjacent sections of Atta cephalotes fungal gardens and applied a metabolome-informed proteome imaging approach to map lignin degradation. This approach combines two spatial multiomics mass spectrometry modalities that enabled us to visualize colocalized metabolites and proteins across and through the fungal garden. Spatially profiled metabolites revealed an accumulation of lignin-related products, outlining morphologically unique lignin microhabitats. Metaproteomic analyses of these microhabitats revealed carbohydrate-degrading enzymes, indicating a prominent fungal role in lignocellulose decomposition. Integration of metabolome-informed proteome imaging data provides a comprehensive view of underlying biological pathways to inform our understanding of metabolic fungal pathways in plant matter degradation within the micrometer-scale environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Veličković
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Ruonan Wu
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Yuqian Gao
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Margaret W Thairu
- Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Dušan Veličković
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Nathalie Munoz
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Chaevien S Clendinen
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Aivett Bilbao
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Rosalie K Chu
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Priscila M Lalli
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Kevin Zemaitis
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Carrie D Nicora
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Jennifer E Kyle
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Daniel Orton
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Sarai Williams
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Ying Zhu
- Department of Microchemistry, Proteomics, Lipidomics, and Next Generation Sequencing, Genentech, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Rui Zhao
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Matthew E Monroe
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Ronald J Moore
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | | | - Lisa M Bramer
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Cameron R Currie
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Paul D Piehowski
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Kristin E Burnum-Johnson
- The Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA.
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Veličković D, Zemaitis KJ, Bhattacharjee A, Anderton CR. Mass spectrometry imaging of natural carbonyl products directly from agar-based microbial interactions using 4-APEBA derivatization. mSystems 2024; 9:e0080323. [PMID: 38064548 PMCID: PMC10804984 DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00803-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Aliphatic carboxylic acids, aldehydes, and ketones play diverse roles in microbial adaptation to their microenvironment, from excretion as toxins to adaptive metabolites for membrane fluidity. However, the spatial distribution of these molecules throughout biofilms and how microbes in these environments exchange these molecules remain elusive for many of these bioactive species due to inefficient molecular imaging strategies. Herein, we apply on-tissue chemical derivatization (OTCD) using 4-(2-((4-bromophenethyl)dimethylammonio)ethoxy)benzenaminium dibromide (4-APEBA) on a co-culture of a soil bacterium (Bacillus subtilis NCIB 3610) and fungus (Fusarium sp. DS 682) grown on agar as our model system. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-MSI), we spatially resolved more than 300 different metabolites containing carbonyl groups within this model system. Various spatial patterns are observable in these species, which indicate possible extracellular or intercellular processes of the metabolites and their up- or downregulation during microbial interaction. The unique chemistry of our approach allowed us to bring additional confidence in accurate carbonyl identification, especially when multiple isomeric candidates were possible, and this provided the ability to generate hypotheses about the potential role of some aliphatic carbonyls in this B. subtilis/Fusarium sp. interaction. The results shown here demonstrate the utility of 4-ABEBA-based OTCD MALDI-MSI in probing interkingdom interactions directly from microbial co-cultures, and these methods will enable future microbial interaction studies with expanded metabolic coverage.IMPORTANCEThe metabolic profiles within microbial biofilms and interkingdom interactions are extremely complex and serve a variety of functions, which include promoting colonization, growth, and survival within competitive and symbiotic environments. However, measuring and differentiating many of these molecules, especially in an in situ fashion, remains a significant analytical challenge. We demonstrate a chemical derivatization strategy that enabled highly sensitive, multiplexed mass spectrometry imaging of over 300 metabolites from a model microbial co-culture. Notably, this approach afforded us to visualize over two dozen classes of ketone-, aldehyde-, and carboxyl-containing molecules, which were previously undetectable from colonies grown on agar. We also demonstrate that this chemical derivatization strategy can enable the discrimination of isobaric and isomeric metabolites without the need for orthogonal separation (e.g., online chromatography or ion mobility). We anticipate that this approach will further enhance our knowledge of metabolic regulation within microbiomes and microbial systems used in bioengineering applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dušan Veličković
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Kevin J. Zemaitis
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Arunima Bhattacharjee
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
| | - Christopher R. Anderton
- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
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