Identification of clinical dermatophyte isolates obtained from Iran by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Authors

1 Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences

2 Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

3 Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.

4 Babol University of Medical Sciences, Babol, Iran

5 Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

6 Faculty of Medicine, University of Akdeniz, Antalya, Turkey.

7 aculty of Medicine, University of Akdeniz, Antalya, Turkey.

8 Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Çukurova, Adana, Turkey

9 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is widely used to discriminate among pathogenic microorganisms in clinical laboratories. The aim of this study was to assess the utility of MALDI-TOF MS in the routine identification of clinical dermatophyte isolates obtained from various geographical regions of Iran.

Materials and Methods: A total of 94 isolates, including Trichophyton interdigitale (n=44), T. rubrum (n=40), T. tonsurans (n=4), Microsporum canis (n=4), and Epidermophyton floccosum (n=1), were analyzed in this study. The identity of each isolate was determined by polymerase chani reaction amplification and sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear-encoded ribosomal DNA and also MALDI-TOF MS. The obtained data by molecular approach were compared with MALDI-TOF MS.

Results: The MALDI-TOF MS led to the identification of 44 (47%) isolates at the species level by generating the spectral score values of ≥ 2.0. However, there was not sufficient agreement between the results of the molecular-based ITS identification methods and MALDI-TOF MS in the species identification of 16 (17%) isolates. The Bruker Daltonics database was also not able to identify protein spectra related to 12 isolates (13%), including T. interdigitale (n=5), T. rubrum (n=4), M. canis (n=2), and T. tonsurans (n=1).

Conclusion: According to the results, the utility of MALDI-TOF MS as a routine diagnostic tool for the accurate and reliable identification of dermatophytes can be justified whenever the protein spectra of a large set of worldwide clinical isolates are included in the commercial libraries. In addition, MALDI-TOF MS can be alternatively used to construct an in-house reference database.

Keywords


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Volume 5, Issue 2
June 2019
Pages 22-26
  • Receive Date: 09 July 2019
  • Revise Date: 07 September 2020
  • Accept Date: 09 July 2019
  • Publish Date: 01 June 2019