Can MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Reasonably Type Bacteria?

Marlène Sauget (1, 2) , Benoît Valot (2) , Xavier Bertrand (1, 2) , Didier Hocquet (1, 2)

1 CHRU Besançon - Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Besançon
2 LCE - Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249)

Bacterial typing is crucial to tackle the spread of bacterial pathogens but current methods are time-consuming and costly. Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been recently integrated into the microbiology laboratory workflow for a quick and low-cost microbial species identification. Independent research groups have successfully redirected the original function of this technology from their primary purpose to discriminate subgroups within pathogen species. However, identical bacterial subgroups could be identified by unrelated peaks by independent methods, thus limiting their robustness and exportability. We propose several guidelines that could improve the performance of MALDI-TOF MS-based typing methods for use as a first-line epidemiological tool.

Mots clés: Bacteria; Escherichia coli; MALDI-TOF MS; Staphylococcus aureus; Typing

Domaines: Microbiologie et Parasitologie

Marlène Sauget, Benoît Valot, Xavier Bertrand, Didier Hocquet. Can MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry Reasonably Type Bacteria?. Trends in Microbiology, 2017. ⟨hal-01505999⟩