A breath of information: the volatilome

Mansurova, M.; Ebert, Birgitta E.; Blank, Lars M.; Ibáñez, Alfredo J.

doi:10.1007/s00294-017-0800-x

Technical Notes
Published: 26 December 2017

A breath of information: the volatilome

M. Mansurova¹,
Birgitta E. Ebert²,
Lars M. Blank² &
Alfredo J. Ibáñez¹

Current Genetics volume 64, pages 959–964 (2018)Cite this article

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Abstract

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are small molecular mass substances, which exhibit low boiling points and high-vapour pressures. They are ubiquitous in nature and produced by almost any organism of all kingdoms of life. VOCs are involved in many inter- and intraspecies interactions ranging from antimicrobial or fungal effects to plant growth promotion and human taste perception of fermentation products. VOC profiles further reflect the metabolic or phenotypic state of the living organism that produces them. Hence, they can be exploited for non-invasive medicinal diagnoses or industrial fermentation control. Here, we introduce the reader to these diverse applications associated with the monitoring and analysis of VOC emissions. We also present our vision of real-time VOC analysis enabled by newly developed analytical techniques, which will further broaden the use of VOCs in even wider applications. Hence, we foresee a bright future for VOC research and its associated fields of applications.

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Acknowledgements

M.M. gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Programa Nacional de Innovacion Agraria, PNIA (PNIA-16452-2016).

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Affiliations

Core facility for Omics Research and Applied Biotechnology (ICOBA), Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Peru
M. Mansurova & Alfredo J. Ibáñez
Institute of Applied Microbiology, iAMB, Aachen Biology and Biotechnology, ABBt, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Birgitta E. Ebert & Lars M. Blank

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M. Mansurova
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Birgitta E. Ebert
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Lars M. Blank
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Alfredo J. Ibáñez
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Correspondence to Alfredo J. Ibáñez.

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Communicated by M. Kupiec.

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Mansurova, M., Ebert, B.E., Blank, L.M. et al. A breath of information: the volatilome. Curr Genet 64, 959–964 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-017-0800-x

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Received: 12 December 2017
Revised: 14 December 2017
Accepted: 18 December 2017
Published: 26 December 2017
Issue Date: August 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00294-017-0800-x

Keywords

Volatilome
Volatome
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
Mass spectrometry (MS)
Secondary electrospray ionization (SESI)
Pheromones