Molecular Analysis of Model Gut Microbiotas by Imaging Mass Spectrometry and Nanodesorption Electrospray Ionization Reveals Dietary Metabolite Transformations

The communities constituting our microbiotas are emerging as mediators of the health-disease continuum. However, deciphering the functional impact of microbial communities on host pathophysiology represents a formidable challenge, due to the heterogeneous distribution of chemical and microbial speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Analytical chemistry (Washington) 2012-11, Vol.84 (21), p.9259-9267
Main Authors: Rath, Christopher M, Alexandrov, Theodore, Higginbottom, Steven K, Song, Jiao, Milla, Marcos E, Fischbach, Michael A, Sonnenburg, Justin L, Dorrestein, Pieter C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical chemistry
Animals
Arachidonic Acid - metabolism
Bacteria
Bacteria - growth & development
Bacteria - metabolism
Bile Acids and Salts - metabolism
Biomarkers - metabolism
Biotransformation
Chemistry
Culture Techniques
Diet
Digestive system
Exact sciences and technology
Fourier transforms
Intestines - microbiology
Mass Spectrometry
Metabolites
Metabolomics
Mice
Microbiota
Molecular Imaging - methods
Molecules
Nanotechnology - methods
Polysaccharides - metabolism
Spectrometric and optical methods
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Summary:The communities constituting our microbiotas are emerging as mediators of the health-disease continuum. However, deciphering the functional impact of microbial communities on host pathophysiology represents a formidable challenge, due to the heterogeneous distribution of chemical and microbial species within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Herein, we apply imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) to localize metabolites from the interaction between the host and colonizing microbiota. This approach complements other molecular imaging methodologies in that analytes need not be known a priori, offering the possibility of untargeted analysis. Localized molecules within the GI tract were then identified in situ by surface sampling with nanodesorption electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (nanoDESI FTICR-MS). Products from diverse structural classes were identified including cholesterol-derived lipids, glycans, and polar metabolites. Specific chemical transformations performed by the microbiota were validated with bacteria in culture. This study illustrates how untargeted spatial characterization of metabolites can be applied to the molecular dissection of complex biology in situ.
ISSN:0003-2700
1520-6882
DOI:10.1021/ac302039u