FIG 3.

SeaMet enhances the detection of metabolites in marine samples. (A and B) Total ion chromatogram cloud plots from GC-MS profiles of metabolite mixtures indicate significant differences (Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted P < 0.05) between ion abundances when comparing SeaMet (blue, top) to the standard (Std) metabolite derivatization (pink, bottom) protocol for GC-MS samples (A) and chromatograms using SeaMet on marine samples before (blue, top) and after (yellow, bottom) solid-phase extraction (SPE) (B). Individual compound box plots are also shown to highlight improvements in metabolite detection using SeaMet. For the cloud plots, larger bubbles indicate higher log₂(fold changes) between groups, and more intense colors represent lower t test P values in a comparison of individual feature (m/z ions) intensities. Samples prepared with SeaMet had high abundances of organic acids (lactic acid, succinic acid, and fumarate), amino acids (isoleucine, leucine, threonine, and valine), sugar alcohols (myo-inositol and mannitol), and sugars (fructose, glucose, cellobiose, maltose, ribose, galactose, and sucrose) in comparison to SPE-based sample preparation. Representatives of each class are indicated in panel B. To show signal improvement using SeaMet, samples for both comparisons included authentic metabolite standards representing multiple chemical classes.