This practical reference focuses on the principles of metabolome analysis and treats metabolomics as a field of its own, rather than as just an additional analytical tool in science. Part I guides readers through the primary steps in metabolite analysis, beginning with an overview of the terminology and the basic concepts of cell metabolism, and the dynamics of biochemical reactions and metabolite turnover. It then discusses the most common methodologies for sample preparation, sample techniques, detection and identification methods, analytical tools (including liquid and gas chromatography as well as mass spectrometry), and data analysis.

Part II illustrates the applicability of metabolomics and discusses specific peculiarities and requirements of metabolomics in certain groups of organisms. It reviews successful cases of metabolome analysis with chapters on:

• Yeast metabolomics
• Specialized sampling devices for microbial metabolomics
• Major achievements in plant metabolomics
• Metabolomics in the classification of filamentous fungi
• Metabolomics applied to humans and other mammals

This is the definitive, core reference on metabolome analysis for research scientists in biochemistry and analytical chemistry, as well as academics, researchers, and technicians in the fields of functional genomics and metabolic engineering. It is also a practical text for scientists working to discover metabolites from natural sources and for graduate students in a variety of courses.