Metabolomic Analysis: Comprehensive Measurements of Biomarkers of Plant and Animal Health

The main objectives of my work are to improve analytical mass spectrometry strategies and apply them to resolve central scientific questions in the areas of (1) improvements in the basic biology of food and medicinal crops, (2) development of renewable energy sources, (3) enhancement of food production, (4) improvements in livestock health, and (5) relationships between human exposures to nutrients and toxins and epigenetic factors that influence human health. Our approach has been focused on developing comprehensive and global measurements of metabolites (known as metabolomics), lipids (lipidomics), and exposures (through substances in foods and environment, known as 'exposomics'), and are explained in more detail below.1a. Relevance to food production. Plants are masters of producing many thousands of specialized metabolites renowned for their diversity and biological activities. Some of these play important roles as chemical defenses against herbivores and pathogens, while others recruit insects beneficial for pollination. Many plant metabolites have inspired development of medicines important in human and animal health. However, our understanding of the genetic basis for plant chemistry and the metabolic pathways responsible for plant defenses remains limited. The tools were are developing and applying promise to unravel the mysteries underlying how plants make useful chemicals.1b. Relevance to energy. Efficient and cost-effective deconstruction of plant cell walls remains one of the most substantial barriers to utilization of renewable plant crops for production of transportation biofuels. As part of the DOE-funded Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, we have developed procedures to better define the products generated by thermochemical and enzymatic processing of agricultural wastes including corn stover and other grasses. This "post-mortem metabolomics" approach provides us with a window into the chemical nature of plant secondary cell walls and the formation of fermentation and enzyme inhibitors generated by various pre-treatments. These findings can be expected to guide and propel future plant breeding and process engineering efforts to utilize these materials for biofuels.1c. Relevance to diet and human health. Great uncertainty remains regarding the roles of diet and lifestyle with regard to human health and disease. Metabolomics offers a powerful view into physiological status, and can be exploited to assess how physiological states are influenced by diet, nutrition, and lifestyle including exercise. A new branch of metabolomics, termed "exposomics", promises to help researchers establish links between diet, nutrition, and environmental exposures with biological processes that influence human health, often for generations not yet born.