شناسایی استافیلوکوک های کواگولاز منفی وابسته به گاو با استفاده از اسپکترومتر جرمی زمان رسیدن به یخ زدن لیزر با استفاده از ماتریکس با استفاده از پروتکل انتقال مستقیم

This study evaluated matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS) for the identification of bovine-associated coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), a heterogeneous group of different species. Additionally, we aimed to expand the MALDI-ToF MS database with new reference spectra as required to fill the gaps within the existing commercial spectral library. A total of 258 isolates of CNS were used in the study, covering 16 different CNS species. The majority of the isolates were previously identified by rpoB gene sequencing (n = 219), and the remainder were identified by sequencing of 16S rRNA, hsp60, or both rpoB and hsp60. The genotypic identification was considered the gold standard identification. All MALDI-ToF MS identifications were carried out using the direct transfer method. In a preliminary evaluation (n = 32 isolates; 2 of each species) with the existing commercial database, MALDI-ToF MS showed a typeability of 81% (26/32) and an accuracy of 96% (25/26). In the main evaluation (n = 226 isolates), MALDI-ToF MS with the existing commercial Biotyper (Bruker Daltonics Inc., Billerica, MA) database achieved a typeability of 92.0% (208/226) and an accuracy of 99.5% (207/208). Based on the assessment of the existing commercial database and prior knowledge of the species, a total of 13 custom reference spectra, covering 8 species, were created and added to the commercial database. Using the custom reference spectra expanded database, isolates were identified by MALDI-ToF MS with 100% typeability and 100% accuracy. Whereas the MALDI-ToF MS manufacturer's cutoff for species-level identification is 2.000, the reduction of the species level cutpoint to ≥1.700 improved the species-level identification rates (from 64 to 92% for the existing commercial database) when classifying CNS isolates. Overall, MALDI-ToF MS using the direct transfer method was shown to be a highly reliable tool for the identification of bovine-associated CNS.