Visualizing the spatial distribution of secondary metabolites produced by marine cyanobacteria and sponges via MALDI-TOF imaging

Marine cyanobacteria and sponges are prolific sources of natural products with therapeutic applications. In this paper we introduce a mass spectrometry based approach to characterize the spatial distribution of these natural products from intact organisms of differing complexities. The natural product MALDI-TOF-imaging (npMALDI-I) approach readily identified a number of metabolites from the cyanobacteria Lyngbya majuscula 3L and JHB, Oscillatoria nigro-viridis, Lyngbya bouillonii, and a Phormidium species, even when they were present as mixtures. For example, jamaicamide B, a well established natural product from the cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula JHB, was readily detected as were the ions that correspond to the natural products curacin A and curazole from Lyngbya majuscula 3L. In addition to these known natural products, a large number of unknown ions co-localized with the different cyanobacteria, providing an indication that this method can be used for dereplication and drug discovery strategies. Finally, npMALDI-I was used to observe the secondary metabolites found within the sponge Dysidea herbacea. From these sponge data, more than 40 ions were shown to be co-localized, many of which were halogenated. The npMALDI-I data on the sponge indicates that, based on the differential distribution of secondary metabolites, sponges have differential chemical micro-environments within their tissues. Our data demonstrate that npMALDI-I can be used to provide spatial distribution of natural products, from single strands of cyanobacteria to the very complex marine assemblage of a sponge.