TY - JOUR T1 - Spatial metabolomics of in situ, host-microbe interactions JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/555045 SP - 555045 AU - Benedikt K Geier AU - Emilia Sogin AU - Dolma Michellod AU - Moritz Janda AU - Mario Kompauer AU - Bernhard Spengler AU - Nicole Dubilier AU - Manuel Liebeke Y1 - 2019/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/02/19/555045.abstract N2 - Spatial metabolomics describes the location and chemistry of small molecules involved in metabolic phenotypes, defense molecules and chemical interactions in natural communities. Most current techniques are unable to spatially link the genotype and metabolic phenotype of microorganisms in situ at a scale relevant to microbial interactions. Here, we present a spatial metabolomics pipeline (metaFISH) that combines fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) microscopy and high-resolution atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry imaging (AP-MALDI-MSI) to image host-microbe symbioses and their metabolic interactions. metaFISH aligns and integrates metabolite and fluorescent images at the micrometer-scale for a spatial assignment of host and symbiont metabolites on the same tissue section. To illustrate the advantages of metaFISH, we mapped the spatial metabolome of a deep-sea mussel and its intracellular symbiotic bacteria at the scale of individual epithelial host cells. Our analytical pipeline revealed metabolic adaptations of the epithelial cells to the intracellular symbionts, a variation in metabolic phenotypes in one symbiont type, and novel symbiosis metabolites. metaFISH provides a culture-independent approach to link metabolic phenotypes to community members in situ - a powerful tool for microbiologists across fields. ER -