There is a myriad of structurally and functionally diverse metabolites in plants. Their biosynthesis and metabolism are essential to maintain various biological processes in the life cycle of plants. Thus, analyses of plant metabolites are indispensable for understanding plant growth and development, as well as plant responses to environmental conditions and stresses. With the development of high-end technologies, such as mass spectrometry (MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, new analytical strategies for studying plant metabolites, including metabolomics/metabonomics, have been established and utilized to enable highly sensitive, high-throughput, highly accurate measurements. Studies on plant metabolites now play a significant role in plant biology and in applied biotechnology. New analytical strategies are, therefore, powerful drivers in plant metabolism and chemodiversity research.

This Research Topic looks at advances in the characterization and/or quantitative profiling of plant metabolites using new analytical strategies. There are a wide range of approaches to plant metabolites analysis, which aim to detect natural compounds in plant extracts and secretions. In recent years, new analytical strategies have shaped our understanding of the role of plant metabolites in regulating different aspects of plant life, for instance, plant single-cell metabolomics, spatio-temporal metabolite profiling of plant secretes, 4D lipidomics, etc. In addition, the increasing development of statistical methods based on the huge amount of analytical data makes the possibility of screening compounds, even in limited quantities, of significant interest to researchers. Metabolites analysis will not only help dissect the metabolic network in plants but also contribute to obtaining high-quality and high-value foods through improvements in agricultural methods.

In this Research Topic, we invite authors to submit articles of all types published by Frontiers in Plant Science that highlight new strategies in the analysis of plant metabolites which further our understanding of plant metabolism and chemodiversity. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts on subthemes that include, but are not limited to:

• New analytical strategies for the characterization and/or quantitative profiling of plant metabolites;
• New data analysis and statistical tools to model plant metabolic profiles;
• New metabolomics the for characterization and/or quantitative profiling of plant metabolites;
• Metabolite profiling of new plant organs or subcellular organelles;
• The analysis of metabolites in plant ecology and biodiversity research;
• New metabolic pathways of bioactive plant metabolites.

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