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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Evaluation of Microbial Safety of Dairies using Bacterial Proteomic Profiling via MALDI Approach
Published on: October 7, 2025
Identification of Gallibacterium species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass
Merima Alispahic1, Henrik Christensen, Claudia Hess
1Clinic for Avian, Reptile and Fish Medicine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. merima.alispahic@vetmeduni.ac.at
Abstract:
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) whole-cell fingerprinting was used for characterization of 66 reference strains of Gallibacterium. The 4 recognised Gallibacterium species and Gallibacterium genomospecies 1 yielded reproducible and unique mass spectrum profiles, which were confirmed with Bruker Biotyper reference database version 3. The reproducibility of MALDI-TOF MS results were evaluated varying the age and storage of the cultures investigated. Reliable species identification was possible for up to 8 days of storage at 4°C and less reliable if the bacteria were stored at room temperature (20°C). However, if the strains were grown longer than 48h at 37°C under microaerobic atmosphere, poor identification results were obtained, due to changes in protein profile. The MALDI-TOF MS results of all 66 strains demonstrated 87.9% concordance with results based upon biochemical/physiological characterization. In addition, diversities outlined by MALDI-TOF MS were verified by sequencing the rpoB (n=43), 16S rRNA (n=28), infB (n=14), and recN (n=14) genes (multilocus sequence analysis, MLSA). In addition, discrepancies were observed between some of the genes sequenced. Results obtained demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS fingerprinting represents a fast and reliable method for identification and differentiation of the 4 recognised Gallibacterium species and possible a fifth species Gallibacterium genomospecies 1, with applications in clinical diagnostics.
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