METABOLOMICS AND MASS SPECTROMETRY

Metabolomics is the study of small molecules or metabolites (metabolome) in a cell, tissue or whole organism. These types of methods are complementary to genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic analysis for the molecular characterization of biological systems and changes within these systems. Metabolomics is also defined as the comprehensive analysis of all compounds with low molecular weight (< 1500 Da) in a biological system or its parts; for example, the extract of a plant root. The plant metabolome comprises of a wide range of chemical species with diverse physical properties; from inorganic ionic compounds to hydrophilic carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids and a range of related hydrophobic compounds like lipids. The plant metabolome has received more attention in recent years due to its importance in health, food and nutrition, the study of food safety and crop improvement.

Research lines:

• Development and application of a range of chromatography and mass spectrometry methods, for the structural analysis of biologically active molecules in order to understand their mechanism of action at the molecular level.
• Discovery of new metabolites and quantitative metabolomics.
• Metabolite profiles such as: non-structural carbohydrates, semi-volatile, volatile and non-volatile organic compounds, plant hormones and phenylpropanoids.
• Characterization of bioactive compounds from plant extracts.
• Plant cell wall polysaccharides, structural analysis using MS, GC-MS and enzymatic hydrolysis, as well as immunodetection using specific molecular probes.

Recent projects:

• Metabolome and transcriptome comparison in Capsicum.
• Ferulic acid oligomer profiles and its natural variation in corn kernels.
• Metabolome and transcriptome comparison of vanilla from different regions of Mexico.
• Development of MALDI-MS Imaging for the localization of cytokinins in Arabidopsis thaliana.
• Non-targeted metabolomic analysis of a soil.

Most relevant publications:

• 1. Modulation of steroidal glycoalkaloid biosynthesis in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) by jasmonic acid. Plant Science, 2018, 277 (12):155-165.
• 2. Homoisoflavonoids Are Potent Glucose Transporter 2 (GLUT2) Inhibitors: A Potential Mechanism for the Glucose-Lowering Properties of Polygonatum odoratum. J. Agric. Food Chem., 2018, 66(12):3137-3145.
• 3. Genomic history of the origin and domestication of common bean unveils its closest sister species. Genome Biology, 2017, 18(1):60.
• 4. Developing Pericarp of Maize: A Model to Study Arabinoxylan Synthesis and Feruloylation. Front. Plant Sci., 2016, 7:1476.
• 5. Assessing temporal flux of plant hormones in stored processing potatoes using high definition accurate mass spectrometry. Horticulture Research, 2015, 2:1-8.

Recent publications:

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