title: Metabolomics of aging assessed in individual parasitoid wasps.
abstract: Metabolomics studies of low-biomass organisms, such as small insects, have previously relied on the pooling of biological samples to overcome detection limits, particularly using NMR. We show that the differentiation of metabolite profiles of individual 1 mg parasitoid wasps of different ages is possible when using a modified sample preparation and a combination of untargeted NMR and LC-MS based metabolomics. Changes were observed between newly emerged and older wasps in glycerolipids, amino acids and circulatory sugars. This advance in chemical profiling has important implications for the study of the behaviour and ecology of parasitoids and many other species of small organisms because predictions and observations are typically made at the level of the individual. Thus, the metabolomic state of low-biomass individuals can now be related to their behaviour and ecological performance. We discuss specifically the utility of age-related metabolomic profiling but our new approach can be applied to a wide range of biological research.
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: Apostolos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kapranas
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK.|Centre for Analytical Bioscience, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
authors.forename: Charles J P
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Snart
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
authors.forename: Huw
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.affiliation: School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK.
authors.forename: Ian C W
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.affiliation: Centre for Analytical Bioscience, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Barrett
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods*; D009036:Moths / Q000469:parasitology; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; D014863:Wasps / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology