Spatially resolved metabolomics reveals variety-specific metabolic changes in banana pulp during postharvest senescence

• Published in: Food Chemistry: X Vol. 15; p. 100371
• Main Authors: Yin, Zhibin, Dong, Tao, Huang, Wenjie, Du, Mingyi, Chen, Dong, Fernie, Alisdair R., Yi, Ganjun, Yan, Shijuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 30.10.2022; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amino acid; Banana; Mass spectrometry imaging; Metabolomics; Monoamine; Soluble sugars; Monoamine; Metabolomics; Amino acid; Mass spectrometry imaging; Banana; Soluble sugars
• ISSN: 2590-1575; 2590-1575
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fochx.2022.100371

•Both post-ripening stages and banana varieties contribute to metabolite variation.•AuNP-assisted LDI-MSI was firstly used in mapping functional metabolites in pulps.•AAs and monoamines exclusively accumulated in the middle region near the seed zone.•Monosaccharides locate in whole pulps but enrich in the intermediate microregion.•Di/trisaccharides exhibit different accumulation patterns as monosaccharides. Banana is one of most popular fruits globally due to health-promoting and disease-preventing effects, yet little is known about in situ metabolic changes across banana varieties. Here, we integrated gold nanoparticle (AuNP)-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (LDI-MSI) and metabolomics to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution and levels of metabolites within Brazil and Dongguan banana pulps during postharvest senescence. Metabolomics results indicated that both postripening stages and banana varieties contribute to metabolite levels. Benefiting from improved ionization efficiency of small-molecule metabolites and less peak interference, we visualized the spatiotemporal distribution of sugars, amino acids (AAs) and monoamines within pulps using AuNP-assisted LDI-MSI for the first time, revealing that AAs and monoamines exclusively accumulated in the middle region near the seed zone. Monosaccharides and di/trisaccharides were generally distributed across entire pulps but exhibited different accumulation patterns. These findings provide a guide for breeding new varieties and improving extraction efficiency of bioactive compounds.