Fungal elemental profiling unleashed through rapid laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS)

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Abstract

Elemental profiling of fungal species as a phenotyping tool is an understudied topic and is typically performed to examine plant tissue or non-biological materials. Traditional analytical techniques such as inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) have been used to identify elemental profiles of fungi; however, these techniques can be cumbersome due to the difficulty of preparing samples. Additionally, the instruments used for these techniques can be expensive to procure and operate. Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an alternative elemental analytical technique—one that is sensitive across the periodic table, easy to use on various sample types, and is cost-effective in both procurement and operation. LIBS has not been used on axenic filamentous fungal isolates grown in substrate media. In this work, as a proof of concept, we used LIBS on two genetically distinct fungal species grown on a nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor substrate media to determine whether robust elemental profiles can be detected and whether differences between the fungal isolates can be identified. Our results demonstrate a distinct correlation between fungal species and their elemental profile, regardless of the substrate media, as the same strains shared a similar uptake of carbon, zinc, phosphorus, manganese, and magnesium, which could play a vital role in their survival and propagation. Independently, each fungal species exhibited a unique elemental profile. This work demonstrates a unique and valuable approach to rapidly phenotype fungi through optical spectroscopy, and this approach can be critical in understanding these fungi's behavior and interactions with the environment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalmSystems
Volume9
Issue number9
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2024

Funding

This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC-05-000R22725. This research was also funded by the Genomic System Sciences Program, U.S. Department of Energy, of Science, Biological and Environmental Research. Fungal isolates were obtained from Plant-Microbe Interface Focus Area microbial collection (ORNL; http:// pmi.ornl.gov). The authors would like to acknowledge Christopher Orosco for assistance with graphics and John Batson III for editing the manuscript. This work was supported by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program of Oak Ridge National Laboratory, managed by UT-Battelle, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC-05-000R22725. This research was also funded by the Genomic System Sciences Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research. Fungal isolates were obtained from Plant-Microbe Interface Scientific Focus Area microbial collection (ORNL; http pmi.ornl.gov). U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) DE-AC05-00OR22725 Tom\u00E1s A. Rush Notice: This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, L.L.C., under contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the US Department of Energy (DOE). The US government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the US government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript or allow others to do so, for US government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan (http://energy.gov/ downloads/doe-public-access-plan).

Keywords

  • LIBS
  • elemental profiling
  • endophytes
  • fungal behavior
  • ionomics
  • poplar

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