Summary
Plant hormones are compounds that are chemically diverse and of low molecular weight. They are naturally-occurring and, at low concentrations, influence biological processes. As signaling molecules, plant hormones send information between cells. This interaction is what controls plant growth and development.
Plant hormone profiling involves measuring and identifying plant hormones and their metabolites from a single tissue sample. This process can also be applied to other metabolites which are not directly involved in plant growth and development. Instead, they support the interaction of plants with their environment. They respond to abiotic and biotic stress including properties that protect the plant from pathogens.
Technical service highlights
Our plant hormone profiling services allow you to identify and measure a range of plant hormones, and their metabolites, from single plant tissue samples.
Whether you are a company working to develop a more drought-tolerant crop, an agriculturalist studying a fruit's ripening process or a health scientist identifying a food's bioactive compounds, the National Research Council of Canada can help you understand phytohormone involvement in a plant's biological processes.
Why work with us
We have more than 15 years of plant hormone profiling experience and experts who are recognized for service quality, efficiency and internal standards synthesis.
We provide credible, economical results and cost-effective solutions to your research and development questions.
What we offer
We offer access to one of the most comprehensive services of its kind in the world.
Our team can analyze and quantify 42 different plant hormones and provide advice on plant hormone chemistry. We provide guidance on how to design your experiments to ensure meaningful results. Through our plant hormone profiling and applied genomics analyses, you will gain a comprehensive view of a plant's signalling and response, and how those affect its development and physiology.
Our services include extraction, pre-purification, compound separation and analysis of plant hormones, and their metabolites. To do so, we use analytical chemistry instrumentation, including high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. When we pair these analytical methods with our internal standards, we can accurately quantify dozens of compounds in a single experiment.
List of plant hormones analyzed
- Abscisic acid and its metabolites: cis-abscisic acid, trans-abscisic acid, phaseic acid, dihydrophaseic acid, abscisic acid glucose ester, 7'-hydroxy-abscisic acid, and neo-phaseic acid;
- Cytokinins: cis-zeatin, trans-zeatin, cis-zeatin riboside, trans-zeatin riboside, cis-zeatin-O-glucoside, trans-zeatin-O-glucoside, dihydrozeatin, dihydrozeatin riboside, isopentenyl adenine, isopentenyl adenosine, and kinetin;
- Auxins: indole-3-acetic acid, indole-3-butyric acid, indole-3-acetic acid aspartate, indole-3-acetic acid glutamate, N-(Indole-3-yl-acetyl)-alanine, and N-(Indole-3-yl-acetyl)-leucine;
- Gibberellins GA1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 19, 20, 24, 29, 34, 44, 51 and 53;
- Free/unconjugated salicylic acid;
- Jasmonic acid and jasmonic acid isoleucine;
- Ethylene precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid.
We combine our extensive knowledge in plant development and metabolism, extract purification and analytical chemistry to offer identification and quantitative analysis of select plant bioactive metabolites, including:
- isoflavones and other phytoestrogens (daidzein, genistein, glycitein, daidzin, genistin, glycitin, secoisolariciresinol, ononin, calycosin, sissotrin, coumestrol, kaempferol, matairesinol, isoliquiritigenin, formononetin, biochanin A, 6-methoxyflavone, etc.)
- carbohydrates (glucose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, raffinose oligosaccharidessugar phosphates, nucleotide sugars, etc.)
- organic acids (malic acid, tartaric acid, oxalic acid, citric acid)
- glutathione (GSH)
- oxidized glutathione (GSSG)
- S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO)
- vicine
- convicine
- levodopa (L-DOPA)
- γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)
- antinutritional compounds (total phenolics, total saponins, phytic acid, nitrate and nitrite)
Fees
We offer specialized services, support from scientific and technical experts, and a full range of analytical capabilities, at competitive rates.
Contact us today for a tailored submission.
Contact us
Technical enquiries
L. Irina Zaharia
Telephone: 306-975-5333
Email: Irina.Zaharia@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca