Novel approach for differentiating shigella species and escherichia coli by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry

Abstract

Shigella species are so closely related to Escherichia coli that routine matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) cannot reliably differentiate them. Biochemical and serological methods are typically used to distinguish these species; however, "inactive" isolates of E. coli are biochemically very similar to Shigella species and thus pose a greater diagnostic challenge. We used ClinProTools (Bruker Daltonics) software to discover MALDI-TOF MS biomarker peaks and to generate classification models based on the genetic algorithm to differentiate between Shigella species and E. coli. Sixtysix Shigella spp. and 72 E. coli isolates were used to generate and test classification models, and the optimal models contained 15 biomarker peaks for genus-level classification and 12 peaks for species-level classification. We were able to identify 90% of E. coli and Shigella clinical isolates correctly to the species level. Only 3% of tested isolates were misidentified. This novel MALDI-TOF MS approach allows laboratories to streamline the identification of E. coli and Shigella species. Copyright © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.