Olea europaea, commonly known as the Olive tree, is a species of small evergreen tree native to the Mediterranean Basin and parts of Asia and Africa. It belongs to the Oleaceae family and is renowned for its economic and cultural significance, primarily due to the production of olives and olive oil.
Olive trees have distinctive silvery-green, lance-shaped leaves and gnarled trunks that can live for centuries, making them a symbol of longevity and strength. They produce small, cream-colored flowers in spring, which give rise to olives in various shapes and sizes, depending on the variety. Olives are harvested for both culinary and industrial purposes, with their most prized product being olive oil, a key component of Mediterranean cuisine and a staple of many international dishes.
Metabolic analysis of the Olive tree involves the study of its metabolic processes, including the chemical reactions and pathways that occur within the plant's cells to maintain life and produce important compounds. This analysis is crucial for understanding the growth, development, and adaptation of Olive trees to various environmental conditions. Olive tree metabolic analysis allows you to understand the following:
Project Description: Olive oil is a prized culinary commodity with a rich history and cultural significance. Ensuring its quality and authenticity is of paramount importance. Our Olive Oil Quality Assessment project leverages advanced metabolomics techniques to scrutinize the composition of olive oil, providing precise insights into its purity, freshness, and potential adulteration.
Key Objectives:
Project Description: Olive Trees are renowned for their resilience to the Mediterranean climate, which can be characterized by harsh conditions such as drought, extreme temperatures, and soil salinity. Our Environmental Stress Response project investigates how Olive Trees adapt to and mitigate the effects of these environmental stressors at the metabolic level.
Key Objectives:
Project Description: Olive Trees produce a diverse array of phytochemicals, some of which have demonstrated significant health-promoting properties. Our Nutraceutical Development project focuses on the identification and quantification of these bioactive compounds, laying the foundation for the development of nutraceuticals and functional foods.
Key Objectives:
Project Description: The phytochemical diversity of Olive Trees extends beyond olive oil, encompassing various parts of the tree, including leaves and fruit. Our Phytochemical Profiling project employs metabolomics analysis to uncover the full spectrum of phytochemicals present in different tree components.
Key Objectives:
Analytical Technique | Instrumentation | Description |
---|---|---|
Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) | Thermo Scientific™ Q Exactive™ Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap™ Mass Spectrometer | High-resolution, sensitive instrument combining quadrupole mass filter with Orbitrap mass analyzer; compatible with positive and negative ionization modes. |
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) | Agilent 7890B Gas Chromatograph coupled to an Agilent 5977A MSD | Robust system for analyzing volatile and thermally stable metabolites; precise temperature control, high-performance mass selective detection. |
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy | Bruker Avance III HD NMR Spectrometer | Non-destructive technique for structural and quantitative analysis; high-resolution capabilities, detects multiple nuclei. |
Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) | Waters ACQUITY UPLC coupled to a Waters Xevo G2-XS QToF Mass Spectrometer | Rapid separation and characterization of metabolites; features ultra-high performance liquid chromatography, QToF mass spectrometry, and data-independent acquisition (DIA). |
Workflow for Metabolomics Service
Sample Type | Sample Size |
---|---|
Leaves | 100g - 200g |
Fruit | 100g - 200g |
Roots | 50g - 100g |
Xylem Sap | 5ml - 10ml |
Flowers | Varies (as needed) |
Bark | Varies (as needed) |
Trunk | Varies (as needed) |
Seeds | Varies (as needed) |
Soil Near Roots | Varies (as needed) |
Case. Identification of Molecular Markers for Olive Quick Decline Syndrome (OQDS) Using Metabolomics
Background
The study focuses on OQDS, a devastating disease affecting olive trees in the Salento Peninsula, Italy, caused by Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) infection. OQDS leads to the desiccation and death of olive trees and has significant economic implications. Xf is a Gram-negative pathogen that obstructs water and mineral salt uptake in plants' apical regions. This study aims to identify molecular markers to distinguish between healthy and infected olive trees, providing a potential tool for early disease detection.
Samples
The study encompasses four groups of plant extracts: "Puglia infected," "Liguria healthy," "Puglia healthy," and "Puglia desiccated." These samples represent different states (healthy, infected, and desiccated) and regions (Puglia and Liguria) of olive trees.
Technological Methods
HPLC-HRMS Analytical Method Development: The analytical method involves a multi-step gradient HPLC separation, optimized to separate a wide range of metabolites, from organic acids to phytosterols. Mass spectrometry (MS) is performed in the negative ion mode for improved sensitivity and reduced background noise.
Sample Two-Dimensional Clustering: Principal component analysis (PCA) is employed to cluster samples based on their metabolite profiles. The study identifies three main clusters: quality control (QC) samples, infected samples, and healthy/desiccated samples. It also explores the potential influence of regional differences.
Features Annotation: Metabolites are annotated using tandem MS experiments and databases like MoNA, UNPD, and MetFrag. Several annotated compounds, including plant secondary metabolites like jasmonate sulfate and coumarins, are found to play roles in plant defense and stress responses.
Feature Abundance Class-Related Variability: Abundance boxplots reveal that most annotated features are up-regulated in infected samples, with some variability related to regionality. This suggests that infection and regionality influence the metabolite profiles of olive trees.
Results
The study successfully identifies molecular markers that differentiate between healthy and OQDS-infected olive trees. These markers, including jasmonate sulfate, coumarins, and phytosteroids, highlight the plant's defense and stress responses. The research provides a foundation for the development of targeted analytical methods for early OQDS detection and offers insights into the metabolome of olive trees under infection stress.
PCA score plots for all the samples analyzed
MS2 spectra of some annotated features together with their fragmentation patterns: 12-Hydroxyjasmonate sulfate (a), Decuroside III (b), Oleuropein glucoside (c) and 6'-O-beta-D-Glucopyranosyl-oleuropein (d)
Reference