Metabolite localization in living drosophila using High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning NMR

We have developed new methods enabling in vivo localization and identification of metabolites through their 1H NMR signatures, in a drosophila. Metabolic profiles in localized regions were obtained using HR-MAS Slice Localized Spectroscopy and Chemical Shift Imaging at high magnetic fields. These methods enabled measurement of metabolite contents in anatomic regions of the fly, demonstrated by a decrease in β-alanine signals in the thorax of flies showing muscle degeneration.