title: Rapid classification of phenotypic mutants of Arabidopsis via metabolite fingerprinting.
abstract: We evaluated the application of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry metabolic fingerprinting to classify forward genetic mutants with similar phenotypes. Mutations affecting distinct metabolic or signaling pathways can result in common phenotypic traits that are used to identify mutants in genetic screens. Measurement of a broad range of metabolites provides information about the underlying processes affected in such mutants. Metabolite profiles of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) mutants defective in starch metabolism and uncharacterized mutants displaying a starch-excess phenotype were compared. Each genotype displayed a unique fingerprint. Statistical methods grouped the mutants robustly into distinct classes. Determining the genes mutated in three uncharacterized mutants confirmed that those clustering with known mutants were genuinely defective in starch metabolism. A mutant that clustered away from the known mutants was defective in the circadian clock and had a pleiotropic starch-excess phenotype. These results indicate that metabolic fingerprinting is a powerful tool that can rapidly classify forward genetic mutants and streamline the process of gene discovery.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Sciences, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich, CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gaëlle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Messerli
authors.forename: Vahid
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Partovi Nia
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Trevisan
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kolbe
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schauer
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Geigenberger
authors.forename: Jychian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Anthony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.forename: Alisdair R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Fernie
authors.forename: Samuel C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Zeeman
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D013213:Starch / Q000096:biosynthesis
chemical_list: D013213:Starch