报告题目：Exploring microbial language using imaging mass spectrometry and metabolomics

报  告 人: 杨玉良博士 台湾中研院农业生物技术中心

报告时间: 3月28日 14:00

报告地点：闵行校区生命药学楼3-105

联  系 人：赵心清 13818485314

Abstract

       Microbes share their ecological niches with numerous species of viruses, protozoans, worms, plants, insects, and so on. Organisms occupying a niche compete with or, at times, act symbiotically with others to induce factors essential for reproduction and survival. Within such a niche, organisms employ a diverse array of bioactive metabolites to mediate interactions with their neighbors, competitors, and predators. However, the natural roles of metabolites in the ecosystem are not entirely understood. Understanding the complex biochemical processes that occur in organism interactions requires the elucidation of the structure of the metabolites involved in these processes, and also the spatial distribution of small bioactive molecules within the organisms. Imaging techniques capable of revealing the spatial distribution of molecules allow us to gain a better understanding of the interactions between microbes and different organisms. The quality of information we harvest through imaging techniques depends on sensitivity, molecular coverage, spatial resolution, and temporal resolution. Imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) is a label-free imaging technology that makes it possible to simultaneously and spatiotemporally determine a broad range of molecules within biological samples. My lab is dedicated to the development of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS) and surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization imaging mass spectrometry (SALDI-IMS), which are promising IMS techniques for in situ metabolomics. Here I will introduce how we employ IMS to explore the language involving microbial interactions with other organisms. The results we learned from nature may lead to a better understanding of the ecological niche occupied by those microbes, and improve production and formulation of microbes and their metabolites to enhance the efficacy in therapies and agriculture.