Characterization of yeast and bacterial type strains with food and agricultural applications by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry biotyping

Abstract

Various microorganisms play important roles in food fermentation, food spoilage, and agriculture. In this study, the biotype of 54 yeast and bacterial strains having high potential for utilization in food and agriculture, including Candida spp., Lactobacillus spp., and Acetobacter spp., were characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This characterization using a fast and robust method provides much-needed information on the selected microorganisms and will facilitate effective usage of these strains in various applications. Importantly, the unique protein profile of each microbial species obtained from this study was used to create a database of fingerprints from these species. The database was validated using microbial strains of the same species by comparing the mass spectra with the created database through pattern matching. The created reference database provides crucial information and is useful for further utilization of a large number of valuable microorganisms relevant to food and agriculture.