Using stable isotopes to study flux in primary and secondary plant metabolic pathways

The discipline of metabolomics is naturally suited to disentangling the complex metabolic networks of plants, which feature transport between multiple subcellular compartments, developmental and tissue specialization, and parallel metabolic pathways. Recent improvements in analytical sensitivity and experimental design have enabled plant scientists to address larger questions governing the regulation of central metabolism and its connection to secondary (specialized metabolism), but fundamental gaps in our understanding of how these processes are controlled remain. My lab uses stable isotope labeling of whole plants to study the flux and partitioning of photosynthate among various metabolic sink pathways, including high value natural products such as isoprenoids. In this talk, I will discuss recent advances in chemical ionization and isotope ratio mass spectrometry to characterize metabolic flux in both model and essential oil producing plants.