MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry of bacteria*

Abstract

The development of MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry methods for the characterization of bacteria is reviewed and discussed. The general use of MALDI for the characterization of large biomolecules led directly to obvious applications involving the analysis of isolated bacterial proteins. More surprising was the observation that MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry could be applied directly to crude cellular fractions or cellular suspensions and that the resulting data from such complex mixtures could provide evidence for chemotaxonomic classification. Versatility and the rapidity of analysis led to the rapid development of a number of MALDI-TOF methods involving bacteria. Examples of some of the applications covered in this review are the analysis of bacterial RNA and DNA, the detection of recombinant proteins, the characterization of targeted or unknown proteins, bacterial proteomics, the detection of virulence markers, and the very rapid characterization of bacteria at the genus, species, and strain level. The demonstrated capability of taxonomic classification at the strain level, using unprocessed cells, opens the possibility that MALDI-TOF and similar mass spectrometry approaches may contribute significantly to fulfilling emerging needs for the development of near real-time methods for the characterization of bacteria.

Application of Whole-Cell Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Identification and Clustering Analysis ofPantoeaSpecies

“…For the genus Erwinia the following reference strains were used: E. persicina HK204 technique has been shown to deliver reproducible protein mass fingerprints starting from an aliquot of a single bacterial colony within minutes and without any prior separation, purification, or concentration of samples. Whole-cell MALDI-TOF MS is a reliable technique across broad conditions (e.g., different growth media, cell growth states), with limited variability in mass-peak signatures within a selected mass range (2,000 Ͻ m/z Ͻ 20,000) that does not affect reliability of identification (28,31). MALDI-TOF MS profiles primarily represent ribosomal proteins, which are the most abundant cellular proteins and are synthesized under all growth conditions (47).…”

Evaluation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Rapid Identification of Bacteria in Processed Soybean Products

“…Thus, quality and safety of processed soybean products is important (Katase & Tsumura, 2011;Tsumura & Tsuboi, 2012). Based on the ribosomal proteins profiles of different bacteria, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been demonstrated as a rapid and reliable method for bacterial identification (Lay, 2001;Mazzeo et al, 2006). Databases of various pathogenic bacteria have been generated for use of this method in routine bacterial identification from plate cultures (Seng et al, 2009;Bizzini et al, 2010).…”

An Overview of Analytical Applications of Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometric (TOF-MS) Analyzers and an Inductively Coupled Plasma-TOF-MS Technique

“…The main characteristics and applications of MALDI TOF-MS have been presented in some review articles. [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Recent works dealing with the use of the technique to the identification and structural analysis of various compounds can be mentioned. [36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48] Coupling of MALDI with liquid chromatography, capillary electrophoresis (CE) and gel chromatography is a way to extend its applicability.…”