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Updated: Aug 9, 2025

Identification of Rare Bacterial Pathogens by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS
06:34

Identification of Rare Bacterial Pathogens by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS

Published on: July 11, 2016

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Identification and phylogenetic analysis of Enterococcus isolates using MALDI-TOF MS and VITEK 2

Se-Hyung Kim1, Jung-Whan Chon1, Hyo-Won Jeong2

  • 1Center for One Health, Department of Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, 120 Neungdong-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 05029, Korea.

AMB Express
|February 22, 2023
PubMed

Insights

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) accurately identifies Enterococcus species. This rapid method surpasses the VITEK 2 system in identifying diverse bacterial species from dairy samples.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Bacteriology
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • The Enterococcus genus comprises 38 species, with E. faecalis and E. faecium being most common.
  • Increasing clinical reports highlight less prevalent species like E. durans, E. hirae, and E. gallinarum.
  • Accurate and rapid identification methods are crucial for all Enterococcus species.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the accuracy of MALDI-TOF MS, VITEK 2, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for Enterococcus species identification.
  • To evaluate the discriminatory power of these methods using dairy isolates.
  • To assess the reliability of MALDI-TOF MS against a biochemical assay.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized 39 Enterococcus isolates from dairy samples.
  • Employed matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS).
  • Used VITEK 2 automated identification system and 16S rRNA gene sequencing for comparison.

Main Results:

  • MALDI-TOF MS correctly identified all but one isolate at the species level.
  • VITEK 2 misidentified ten isolates, indicating lower accuracy.
  • Phylogenetic trees from both methods showed similar isolate positioning, supporting MALDI-TOF MS's reliability.

Conclusions:

  • MALDI-TOF MS is a highly reliable and rapid tool for identifying Enterococcus species.
  • MALDI-TOF MS demonstrates superior discriminatory power compared to the VITEK 2 biochemical assay.
  • This study validates MALDI-TOF MS as a preferred method for Enterococcus species identification in laboratory settings.
Keywords:
16S rRNAEnterococcusIdentificationMALDI-TOF MSVITEK 2

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