Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Complex Microbial Communities

Mass Spectrometry Imaging of Complex Microbial Communities

In the two decades since mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) was first applied to visualize the distribution of peptides across biological tissues and cells, the technique has become increasingly effective and reliable. MSI excels at providing complementary information to existing methods for molecular analysis-such as genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics-and stands apart from other chemical...

ToF-SIMS imaging mass spectrometry of microbial systems

Organic biomarkers may greatly aid in the interpretation of geobiological systems, but their significance is often restricted by the loss of spatial information during conventional sample work-up (solvent extraction). Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a quasi-non-destructive technique that simultaneously detects inorganic and organic molecules on solid surfaces, witho...

Primer on agar-based microbial imaging mass spectrometry.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) applied directly to microbes on agar-based medium captures global information about microbial molecules, allowing for direct correlation of chemotypes to phenotypes. This tool was developed to investigate metabolic exchange factors of intraspecies, interspecies, and polymicrobial interactions....

Interkingdom metabolic transformations captured by microbial imaging mass spectrometry.

In polymicrobial infections, microbes can interact with both the host immune system and one another through direct contact or the secretion of metabolites, affecting disease progression and treatment options. The thick mucus in the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis is highly susceptible to polymicrobial infections by opportunistic pathogens, including the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa a...

Imaging with mass spectrometry.