Metablome

The mammalian gastrointestinal tract has co-developed with a large number of microbes in a symbiotic relationship over millions of years. Recent studies indicate that indigenous bacteria are intimate with the intestine and play essential roles in health and disease. In the quest to maintain a stable niche, these prokaryotes influence multiple host metabolic pathways, resulting from an interactive host-microbiota metabolic signaling and impacting strongly on the metabolic phenotypes of the host. Since dysbiosis of the gut bacteria result in alteration in the levels of certain microbial and host co-metabolites, identifying these markers could enhance early detection of diseases...

The potential risks from metal-based nanoparticles (NPs) in the environment have increased with the rapidly rising demand for and use of nanoenabled consumer products. Plant's central roles in ecosystem function and food chain integrity ensure intimate contact with water and soil systems, both of which are considered sinks for NPs accumulation. In this review, we document phytotoxicity caused by metal-based NPs exposure at physiological, biochemical, and molecular levels. Although the exact mechanisms of plant defense against nanotoxicity are unclear, several relevant studies have been recently published...

Differential metabolomics based on a non-targeted FT-ICR/MS analysis demonstrated metabolite accumulation patterns reflecting light/dark conditions in Arabidopsis T87 cell culture. First, FT-ICR/MS data sets were converted into metabolome information using the Dr.DMASS software (https://kanaya.naist.jp/DrDMASS/). A quick search of a metabolite-species database, KNApSAcK (https://kanaya.naist.jp/KNApSAcK/), was implemented to assign metabolite candidates to each accurate MS data (<1 ppm) through the prediction of molecular formulas, and the candidate structures were further studied using MS/MS analyses...