AUTHOR=Liu Bo , Chen Qian , Tang Lina , Zhu Liming , Zou Xianwu , Li Botao , Fan Wei , Fu Yuejin , Lu Yun 

TITLE=Screening of potential chemical marker with interspecific differences in Pterocarpus wood and a spatially-resolved approach to visualize the distribution of the characteristic markers

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2023.1133848

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2023.1133848

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>Profiling the spatial distributions and tissue changes of characteristic compounds with interspecific differences is critical to elucidate the complex species identification during tree species traceability, wood anti-counterfeiting verification and timber trade control. In this research, in order to visualize the spatial position of characteristic compounds in two species with similar morphology (<italic>Pterocarpus santalinus</italic> and <italic>Pterocarpus tinctorius</italic>), a high coverage MALDI-TOF-MS imaging method was used to found the mass spectra fingerprints of different wood species. 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole matrix was used to spray wood tissue section to enhance the detection effect of metabolic molecules, and the mass spectrometry imaging data were obtained. Based on this technology, the spatial location of fifteen potential chemical markers with remarkable interspecific differences in 2 <italic>Pterocarpus</italic> timber species were successfully obtained. Distinct chemical signatures obtained from this method can promote rapid identification at the wood species level. Thus, matrix-assisted laser desorption/time-of-flight/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-TOF-MSI) provides a spatial-resolved way for traditional wood morphological classification and breaking through the limitations of traditional wood identification technology.</p>