Apart from the physiological functions of soybean phytoalexins, the production sites in soybeans remain unknown. In this study, the dynamic production of phytoalexins, glyceollins, in germinating soybeans inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae was visually investigated using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) imaging. During a 3-day sensitization using a fungus, glyceollins I-III were produced in germinating soybeans (from 0.03 mg/g for glyceollin III to 0.96 mg/g for glyceollin I). Imaging analysis provided visual evidence that glyceollins were produced only in the regions of seed coat and germinated root of the soybeans, while no production was observed in other regions, including the cotyledons. In contrast, their precursor, isoflavone, was distributed throughout the soybean. The evidence that the inoculation of the inactivated fungi also caused glyceollin production at the seed coat led us to speculate that glyceollins could be produced in the region of soybean attached to the fungus body.
Keywords: MALDI-MS; distribution; germinating soybean; glyceollin; visualization.