Emerging mass spectrometry techniques for the direct analysis of microbial colonies.

Emerging mass spectrometry techniques for the direct analysis of microbial colonies.
Curr Opin Microbiol. 2014 Jul 24;19C:120-129
Authors: Fang J, Dorrestein PC
Abstract
One of the emerging areas in microbiology is detecting specialized metabolites produced by microbial colonies and communities with mass spectrometry. In this review/perspective, we illustrate the emerging mass spectrometry methodologies that enable the interrogation of specialized metabolites directly from microbial colonies. Mass spectrometry techniques such as imaging mass spectrometry and real-time mass spectrometry allow two and three-dimensional visualization of the distribution of metabolites, often with minimal sample pretreatment. The speed in which molecules are captured using these methods requires the development of new molecular visualization tools such as molecular networking. Together, these tools are beginning to provide unprecedented insight into the chemical world that microbes experience.
PMID: 25064218 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Current Opinion in Microbiology - July 24, 2014 Category: Microbiology Authors: Fang J, Dorrestein PC Tags: Curr Opin Microbiol Source Type: research