Spatially-resolved metabolomics

Plants make many 1000s of metabolites and these are accumulated throughout the plant. However, not all metabolites are accumulated everywhere nor are they all synthesised at the same time. For reasons of efficiency and affectivity, plants tend to accumulate different metabolites in different locations depending on their function in the plant. When metabolites are visible such as the red, blue and purple anthocyanins, we can readily see, for example, that these are often present in flowers and fruit of a certain species, but are not present in the leaves or roots. Similarly, the orange pigment lycopene, typical of ripe tomatoes, is generally not found at significant levels in any other part of the plant apart from the fruit. However, unfortunately, the vast majority of plant metabolites are not visible to the naked eye and so we have little idea how they are localised within organs and tissues.