Identification of Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli outbreak isolates by a novel data analysis tool after matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: The fast and reliable characterization of bacterial and fungal pathogens plays an important role in infectious disease control and tracking of outbreak agents. DNA based methods are the gold standard for epidemiological investigations, but they are still comparatively expensive and time-consuming. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a fast, reliable and cost-effective technique now routinely used to identify clinically relevant human pathogens. It has been used for subspecies differentiation and typing, but its use for epidemiological tasks, e. g. for outbreak investigations, is often hampered by the complexity of data analysis. We have analysed publicly available MALDI-TOF mass spectra from a large outbreak of Shiga-Toxigenic Esch

SUBMITTER: Christner M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5587271 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature