NMR based metabolomic workflow to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in strawberry vernalization

Abstract

Metabolomics is the discipline that aims to determine the whole metabolic profile of a complex mixture. These studies are useful to capture the physiological status of an organism at a given moment. Even though the main technique used in metabolomics is Mass Spectrometry coupled to chromatography, in recent years, interest in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) is increasing because of some benefits of NMR, i.e., it is a non-invasive, highly reproducible, and inherently quantitative technique. However, difficulties in data analysis comprise one of the main reasons that hinder the standardization of NMR for metabolomic analysis in research. In this work, we applied an automated workflow for NMR-based metabolomic analysis for the study of vernalization in strawberry. Vernalization is a key process in obtaining a successful strawberry crop, however, the molecular mechanisms behind it remain still unknown. We expect this work to improve the knowledge of crop metabolism --specifically the vernalization process-- while promoting the use of NMR in conjunction with computational tools for agriculture studies.