RefMetaPlant: a reference metabolome database for plants across five major phyla.

Area of Science:

• Metabolomics
• Plant Science
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• Plants exhibit vast chemical diversity with millions of metabolites crucial for biological functions.
• Limited reference metabolomes and spectral libraries hinder phytochemical discovery and functional studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct a comprehensive reference metabolome for plants.
• To develop integrated tools for plant metabolome analysis and metabolite identification.

Main Methods:

• Generated untargeted mass spectral data using an advanced LC-MS platform from over 150 plant species.
• Developed a computational protocol to construct reference metabolomes for 153 species.
• Integrated spectral libraries and developed query/analytical tools.

Main Results:

• Established a 'Reference Metabolome Database for Plants' (RefMetaPlant).
• Included reference metabolomes, standard compound spectral libraries, and tools like 'LC-MS/MS Query' and 'RefMetaBlast'.
• Provided a platform for genome-scale metabolite analysis and identification.

Conclusions:

• RefMetaPlant serves as a crucial resource analogous to a reference genome for plant metabolomics.
• Facilitates knowledge/data sharing and collaboration in plant metabolomics research.
• The database and tools are freely available to the scientific community.