Rethinking the 2H fingerprint of carbohydrates: a novel proxy for plant metabolism and performance. Holloway-Phillips, M., Lehmann, M. M., Tcherkez, G., Werner, R. A., Nelson, D. B., Baan, J., Cernusak, L. A., Cormier, M., Diao, H., Gessler, A., Guidi, C., Hugger, S., Ladd, S. N., Martínez-Sancho, E., Niittylä, T., Saurer, M., Schuler, P., Vitali, V., Wieloch, T., & Kahmen, A. New Phytologist, 249(4):1623–1643, 2026. _eprint: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.70845![Rethinking the 2H fingerprint of carbohydrates: a novel proxy for plant metabolism and performance [link]](https://bibbase.org/img/filetypes/link.svg "link")
Paper doi abstract bibtex The intricate architecture of plant metabolic networks and the dynamic fluxes of elements through these networks are fundamental determinants of how carbon (C) is partitioned among growth, reproduction, storage, respiration and the synthesis of secondary metabolites. While these C fluxes are critical to cellular function and plant life, their routine measurement remains a significant challenge. This review aimed to highlight the substantial potential of hydrogen (H) isotopes of plant carbohydrates to bridge this methodological gap by serving as a flux-based proxy for primary C metabolism. This potential is demonstrated from both a theoretical perspective and by summarising available evidence at the whole-molecule and position-specific levels. The utility of this proxy is significant for understanding species' metabolic plasticity, assessing plant responses to environmental change and selecting superior metabolic phenotypes in agriculture and forestry. However, for this proxy to be fully realised, several fundamental questions remain. This includes the identification of specific metabolic reactions associated with isotopic variation and their relationship to plant performance. We outline several approaches to advance the development of an H-isotope based plant metabolic proxy for plant performance.
@article{holloway-phillips_rethinking_2026,
title = {Rethinking the {2H} fingerprint of carbohydrates: a novel proxy for plant metabolism and performance},
volume = {249},
copyright = {© 2025 The Author(s). New Phytologist © 2025 New Phytologist Foundation.},
issn = {1469-8137},
shorttitle = {Rethinking the {2H} fingerprint of carbohydrates},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nph.70845},
doi = {10.1111/nph.70845},
abstract = {The intricate architecture of plant metabolic networks and the dynamic fluxes of elements through these networks are fundamental determinants of how carbon (C) is partitioned among growth, reproduction, storage, respiration and the synthesis of secondary metabolites. While these C fluxes are critical to cellular function and plant life, their routine measurement remains a significant challenge. This review aimed to highlight the substantial potential of hydrogen (H) isotopes of plant carbohydrates to bridge this methodological gap by serving as a flux-based proxy for primary C metabolism. This potential is demonstrated from both a theoretical perspective and by summarising available evidence at the whole-molecule and position-specific levels. The utility of this proxy is significant for understanding species' metabolic plasticity, assessing plant responses to environmental change and selecting superior metabolic phenotypes in agriculture and forestry. However, for this proxy to be fully realised, several fundamental questions remain. This includes the identification of specific metabolic reactions associated with isotopic variation and their relationship to plant performance. We outline several approaches to advance the development of an H-isotope based plant metabolic proxy for plant performance.},
language = {en},
number = {4},
urldate = {2026-01-23},
journal = {New Phytologist},
author = {Holloway-Phillips, Meisha and Lehmann, Marco M. and Tcherkez, Guillaume and Werner, Roland A. and Nelson, Daniel B. and Baan, Jochem and Cernusak, Lucas A. and Cormier, Marc-Andre and Diao, Haoyu and Gessler, Arthur and Guidi, Claudia and Hugger, Selina and Ladd, S. Nemiah and Martínez-Sancho, Elisabet and Niittylä, Totte and Saurer, Matthias and Schuler, Philipp and Vitali, Valentina and Wieloch, Thomas and Kahmen, Ansgar},
year = {2026},
note = {\_eprint: https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/nph.70845},
keywords = {carbohydrates, hydrogen stable isotopes, isotope fractionation, metabolic flux analysis, plant C metabolism, plant physiology},
pages = {1623--1643},
}
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