Probing plant metabolism with NMR

Analytical methods for probing plant metabolism are taking on new significa nce in the era of functional genomics and metabolic engineering. Among the available methods, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a techn ique that can provide insights into the integration and regulation of plant metabolism through a combination of in vivo and in vitro measurements. Thu s NMR can be used to identify, quantify, and localize metabolites, to defin e the intracellular environment, and to explore pathways and their operatio n. We review these applications and their significance from a metabolic per spective. Topics of current interest include applications of NMR to metabol ic flux analysis, metabolite profiling, and metabolite imaging. These and o ther areas are discussed in relation to NMR investigations of intermediary carbon and nitrogen metabolism. We conclude that metabolic NMR has a contin uing role to play in the development of a quantitative understanding of pla nt metabolism and in the characterization of metabolic phenotypes.