Despite the widespread application of metabolomics to medical research, its application to ecological and environmental questions has been restricted. This severely limits our understanding of the mechanisms underlying species interactions and biodiversity functions. The EcoMetEoR platform should bridge this gap by providing access to a comprehensive infrastructure for targeted and untargeted metabolomics analysis in ecological and biodiversity research. We routinely analyze phytohormones and plant secondary metabollites such as glucosinolates or volatile organic compounds (VOCs). However, one of the greatest advantages of metabolomics is that it can be applied to any species, including bacteria, fungi, insects, protists […]. In order to understand the relevance of the myriad of still largely undiscovered compounds produced by these organisms, untargeted metabolomics is most suitable. It provides an instantaneous snapshot of the physiology of the organism and helps to identify patterns of metabolites that have biological relevance for the specific ecological question.

The goal of EcoMetEoR is to support ecologists and biodiversity researchers to implement metabolomics in their research projects. To this end, we provide:

• Access to the required analytical equipment
• Assistance with experimental design, sampling and measurements
• Support in data analyses by expert bioinformaticians
• Training workshops on the use of metabolomics