Identification of Nocardia and non-tuberculous Mycobacterium species by MALDI-TOF MS using the VITEK MS coupled to IVD and RUO databases
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 16, 2025

Identification of Rare Bacterial Pathogens by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS
Published on: July 11, 2016
David Rodríguez-Temporal1,2, Margarita Estreya Zvezdánova1,2, Pablo Benedí1,2
1Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Department, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, Spain.
Abstract:
Identification of Nocardia and Mycobacterium species by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is still a challenging task that requires both suitable protein extraction procedures and extensive databases. This study aimed to evaluate the VITEK MS Plus system coupled with updated RUO (v4.17) and IVD (v3.2) databases for the identification of Nocardia spp. and Mycobacterium spp. clinical isolates. Sample preparation was carried out using the VITEK MS Mycobacterium/Nocardia kit for protein extraction. From 90 Nocardia spp. isolates analysed, 86 (95.6%) were correctly identified at species or complex level using IVD and 78 (86.7%) using RUO. Only two strains were misidentified as other species pertaining to the same complex. Among the 106 non-tuberculous Mycobacterium clinical isolates tested from a liquid culture medium, VITEK MS identified correctly at species or complex level 96 (90.6%) isolates in the IVD mode and 89 (84.0%) isolates in the RUO mode. No misidentifications were detected. Although the IVD mode was unable to differentiate members of the M. fortuitum complex, the RUO mode correctly discriminated M. peregrinum and M. septicum. The robustness and accuracy showed by this system allow its implementation for routine identification of these microorganisms in clinical laboratories.
More Related Videos
13:29Rapid Identification of Gram Negative Bacteria from Blood Culture Broth Using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Published on: May 28, 2014
11:09Use of MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry and a Custom Database to Characterize Bacteria Indigenous to a Unique Cave Environment Kartchner Caverns, AZ, USA
Published on: January 2, 2015
Related Concept Videos
MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization (MALDI) is a commonly...
Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI)
The analyte of interest, a biomolecule or a mixture of biomolecules, is mixed with a suitable matrix material. The...
Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry
This technique helps gather information regarding the protein from which the peptide was obtained and to study the peptides’ amino acid sequence. Identifying peptides from a complex mixture is an important component of the growing field of...
Methods of Classification and Identification
Modern Molecular Taxonomy
Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Secondary fragmentations occur in the interaction cell and can be induced by various factors. Fragmentation induced by collision with inert gases, such as N2, Ar, He, etc., is called collision-induced...