Plant metabolomics and strategies

Abstract

Plant metabolomics is the study of metabolic pathways and processes to understand how plants grow and carry out functions. Over the past years, there has been a switch to a more holistic view of metabolomes. Instead of looking at individual pathways and metabolites, scientists are looking at interactions, broad pictures, and regulations. Combination of spectrometry-based technology database with (un)supervised multivariate statistical methodologies reveals a deep insight into complex metabolite patterns of plant derived samples. The ambitious goal of identifying the structure of all metabolites and hence all metabolic pathways is almost becoming within reach as MS- and NMR-based technologies and data mining approaches are rapidly evolving. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016.