This method also requires less handling of samples, leading to a lessened risk of contamination. The method recommended for the analysis of the diluted sample is the recently developed robust inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, or ICP-MS, which can sensitively and simultaneously analyze the sample for multiple elements and deliver accurate readings of their presence. This technique also allows for the survival of small plants, requiring very small sample sizes to remain effective, which is a definite benefit of this method over others as it ensures that ionomic mutations that are found can survive and be bred for further study -- often an issue of importance with ionomics.
3)
one major application of the study of ionomics...
Discovering the genetic basis for the consumption and utilization of specific levels o certain nutrients might one day be achieved, and this could have definite medical implications if the human ionome and its genetic basis could be established. There are also definite implications for this research in the agricultural industry, with understandings of simple issues such as soil composition possibly becoming more fine-tuned and effective through the increased knowledge brought by ionomics. Better farming techniques and knowledge of nutrient needs could have an impact on world hunger, which is still a major problem.
