Metabolomics in Ecology and Bioactive Natural Products Discovery: Challenges and Prospects for a Comprehensive Study of the Specialised Metabolome
Jean-Luc Wolfender,
Arnaud Gaudry,
Adriano Rutz,
Luis-Manuel Quiros-Guerrero,
Louis-Félix Nothias,
Emerson Ferreira Queiroz,
Emmanuel Defossez,
Pierre-Marie Allard
Affiliations
Jean-Luc Wolfender
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva; Institute of Parmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva
Arnaud Gaudry
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva
Adriano Rutz
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva; Institute of Parmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva
Luis-Manuel Quiros-Guerrero
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva
Louis-Félix Nothias
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva
Emerson Ferreira Queiroz
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Western Switzerland, University of Geneva; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva
Emmanuel Defossez
Department of Biology, University of Fribourg; Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel
Pierre-Marie Allard
Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva; School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Geneva, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg
Metabolomics is playing an increasingly prominent role in chemical ecology and in the discovery of bioactive natural products (NPs). The identification of metabolites is a common/central objective in both research fields. NPs have significant biological properties and play roles in multiple chemical-ecological interactions. Classically, in pharmacognosy, their chemical structure is determined after a complex process of isolating and interpreting spectroscopic data. With the advent of powerful analytical techniques such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) the annotation process of the specialised metabolome of plants and microorganisms has improved considerably. In this article, we summarise the possibilities opened by these advances and illustrate how we harnessed them in our own research to automate annotations of NPs and target the isolation of key compounds. In addition, we are also discussing the analytical and computational challenges associated with these emerging approaches and their perspective.
