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Updated: Aug 9, 2025

Identification of Rare Bacterial Pathogens by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS
Published on: July 11, 2016
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.
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.
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