Metabolomics aims to systematically gather (quantitative) information on metabolites in the cell and is commonly viewed as the “missing link” between genomics, transcriptomics, and physiology. Typical metabolomics platforms consist of two main steps, the quenching and extraction of metabolites from plant material and the targeted quantification of the extracted metabolites. | Turkish Journal of Botany Turk J Bot (2015) 39: 1042-1050 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Evaluation of metabolite extraction protocols and determination of physiological response to drought stress via reporter metabolites in model plant Brachypodium distachyon 1,2 3 3, Özge TATLI , Emrah NİKEREL , Bahar SOĞUTMAZ ÖZDEMİR * Department of Bioengineering, Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Bahçeşehir University, İstanbul, Turkey 2 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, İstanbul Technical University, İstanbul, Turkey 3 Department of Genetics and Bioengineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yeditepe University, İstanbul, Turkey 1 Received: Accepted/Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Metabolomics aims to systematically gather (quantitative) information on metabolites in the cell and is commonly viewed as the “missing link” between genomics, transcriptomics, and physiology. Typical metabolomics platforms consist of two main steps, the quenching and extraction of metabolites from plant material and the (un)targeted quantification of the extracted metabolites. Brachypodium distachyon, a native grass species of the Mediterranean region, is an attractive model plant to study temperate crops. In recent years, despite an increasing interest in genomic and transcriptomic studies, metabolomics studies for B. distachyon are still in their infancy. Drought, an abiotic stress factor, causes severe loss in plant productivity and it is therefore crucial to understand its effect on plant metabolism, in particular its metabolome. The objective of this study is to set up a quantitative plant metabolomics platform for B. distachyon to evaluate and optimize alternative metabolite extraction protocols (methanol and methanol-chloroform extraction). Focusing on three reporter metabolites (ATP, glucose, and starch) for metabolite quantification .
