Metabolomics in fruit development

Abstract

Metabolomics aims at the efficient determination of multiple chemical constituents present in a tissue, a cell layer or ideally a single cell. Metabolomics is currently applied in a large number of life science disciplines. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) or Gas- and Liquid-Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS and LC-MS) are the most widespread technologies employed in metabolomics assays. Soft fruit, one of the most metabolite-rich plant organs, was from the first to be subjected to metabolomics investigation. The interest in metabolite profiling of soft fruit could be explained by the large repertoire of metabolites belonging to diverse chemical classes that are formed and catabolized during fruit development, starting from the fertilized ovary up to the ripe, mature fruit. Moreover, fruit constitute an essential part of our diet and the breeding to achieve nutrient-rich varieties entails a comprehensive analysis of their metabolite content. Presently, hundreds of substances, including primary and secondary (or specialized) metabolites have been detected in fruit. Metabolomics has been employed also for following metabolism in transgenic plants, mutants and introgression lines populations. The latter experiments allowed the identification of genomic regions associated with metabolic quality traits. So far, most metabolomics assays in fruit have been focused on two species, namely, tomato and strawberry. It is expected that in the following years the use of metabolomics will be expanded to the investigation of numerous other fruit species. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.