Abstract
Metabolomics is the best measurement of the global effects of protein activity, which results from differences in the genome, and environmental effects on an organism. We have transformed tobacco plants with a bacterial gene that encodes NADP dependent glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), an enzyme that can assimilate ammonium. We describe here the metabolic changes in leaf and root of transgenic tobacco using Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Mass Spectrometry (FTMS), GC-MS and LC-MS/MS metabolite analysis technologies. FTMS analysis led to the detection of over 2200 12C masses that are representative of at least as many metabolites. Primary metabolites were quantified by GC-MS or LC-MS/MS. The comprehensive metabolic analysis of transgenic tobacco provided new information about how changes in the proteome resulting from the insertion of a new gene affect the metabolome. Relationships between metabolites were investigated with statistical cluster analysis. Several findings by these techniques will be discussed.
