Nontargeted Metabolite Profiling in Next-Generation Plant Breeding: A Case Study in Malting Barley

Nontargeted metabolite profiling by ultrahigh-pressure liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) is a powerful technique to investigate the influence of genetic and environmental factors on metabolic phenotypes in plants. The approach offers an unbiased and in-depth analysis that can reveal molecular markers of desirable phenotypic traits that can be complementary to genetic markers in plant breeding efforts. Here, the power of nontargeted metabolite profiling is illustrated in a study focused on the determination of molecular markers in malting barley that are predictive of desirable malting quality for brewing applications.