MALDI-imaging of early stage Xenopus laevis embryos

Man Wang; Kyle Dubiak; Zhenbin Zhang; Paul W Huber; David D Y Chen; Norman J Dovichi

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2019.05.060

MALDI-imaging of early stage Xenopus laevis embryos

Talanta. 2019 Nov 1:204:138-144. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2019.05.060. Epub 2019 May 16.

Authors

Man Wang¹, Kyle Dubiak², Zhenbin Zhang², Paul W Huber², David D Y Chen³, Norman J Dovichi⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA.
³ School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, 210023, China; Department of Chemistry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada.
⁴ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA. Electronic address: ndovichi@nd.edu.

PMID: 31357275
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2019.05.060

Abstract

Xenopus laevis is an important model organism for vertebrate development. An extensive literature has developed on changes in transcript expression during development of this organism, and there is a growing literature on the corresponding protein expression changes during development. In contrast, there is very little information on changes in metabolite expression during development. We present the first MALDI mass-spectrometry images of metabolites within the developing embryo. These images were generated for 142 metabolite ions. The images were subjected to an algorithm that revealed three spatially-resolved clusters of metabolites. One small cluster is localized near the outer membrane of the embryo. A large cluster of metabolites is found in cavities destined to form the neural tube and gut, and contains a number of ceramide species, which are associated with cellular signaling, including differentiation, proliferation, and programmed cell death. Another large cluster of metabolites is found in tissue and is dominated by phosphatidylcholines, which are common components of cell membranes. Surprisingly, no metabolites appear to be homogeneously distributed across the slices; metabolites are localized either within tissue or in cavities, but not both.

Keywords: Developmental biology; Lipidomics; MALDI imaging.

MeSH terms

Animals
Embryo, Nonmammalian / chemistry
Embryo, Nonmammalian / metabolism*
Metabolomics / methods
Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / methods
Xenopus laevis / embryology*