Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026
Identification of Rare Bacterial Pathogens by 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS
Published on: July 11, 2016
Comparison of Bruker Biotyper Sirius, VITEK MS PRIME, and ASTA MicroIDSys MALDI-TOF MS Systems for Cryptococcus
Bosung Park1, Eunsang Suh2,3, Eun Jeong Won1,4
1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Background:
Accurate and rapid identification of Cryptococcus spp. is critical for patient care. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is increasingly used for yeast identification; however, its performance varies with instrument and database coverage. We compared the performance of three MALDI-TOF MS systems-Bruker Biotyper Sirius (Sirius; Bruker Daltonics), bioMérieux VITEK MS PRIME (PRIME; bioMérieux), and ASTA MicroIDSys (ASTA; ASTA Inc.)-for detecting Cryptococcus spp. across protein-extraction protocols.
Methods:
We analyzed 51 C. neoformans, two C. deuterogattii, five Vanrija humicola, and one Naganishia liquefaciens clinical isolates. Each isolate was tested after on-plate formic acid extraction; isolates failing identification were retested after repeat on-plate and intube extractions. The results were categorized as correct, incomplete, incorrect, or no identification against ribosomal DNA sequencing results.
Results:
After initial on-plate extraction, correct identification rates were 86.4%, 88.1%, and 69.5% for Sirius, PRIME, and ASTA, respectively. After repeat on-plate extraction, ASTA accuracy increased to 81.4% (P =0.016). Additional in-tube extraction did not significantly improve identification across platforms, although PRIME outperformed ASTA (P =0.012). All platforms reliably classified C. neoformans (correct identification rates: 94%-96%) after additional on-plate extraction; discrepancies occurred mainly in uncommon species, possibly owing to gaps in database coverage.
Conclusions:
Sirius and PRIME demonstrated robust performance for C. neoformans identification and C. gattii complex differentiation, outperforming ASTA for relatively rare species. Single on-plate extraction is sufficient in clinical practice. However, continued database expansion is essential for maximizing MALDI-TOF MS performance and accurately identifying Cryptococcus spp., thereby informing antifungal therapy and improving patient outcomes.
More Related Videos
09:31Evaluation of Microbial Safety of Dairies using Bacterial Proteomic Profiling via MALDI Approach
Published on: October 7, 2025
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
01:24Automated Microbial Diagnostics
01:19MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry