The use of the ‘omics techniques in environmental research has become common-place. The most widely implemented of these include metabolomics, proteomics, genomics, and transcriptomics. In recent years, a similar approach has also been taken with the analysis of volatiles from biological samples, giving rise to the so-called ‘volatilomics’ in plant analysis. Developments in direct infusion mass spectrometry (DI-MS) techniques have made it possible to monitor the changes in the composition of volatile flux from parts of plants, single specimens, and entire ecosystems in real-time. The application of these techniques enables a unique insight into the dynamic metabolic processes that occur in plants. Here, we provide an overview of the use of DI-MS in real-time volatilomics research involving plants.

在环境研究中使用组学技术已变得司空见惯。其中应用最广泛的包括代谢组学，蛋白质组学，基因组学和转录组学。近年来，在分析生物样品中的挥发物时也采用了类似的方法，从而在植物分析中产生了所谓的“挥发物”。直接注入质谱（DI-MS）技术的发展使得可以实时监测来自植物部分，单个标本和整个生态系统的挥发性通量组成的变化。这些技术的应用使人们能够深入了解植物中发生的动态代谢过程。在这里，我们概述了DI-MS在涉及植物的实时挥发研究中的使用。