Autor(es):
Pereira, Leonel
; Dias, Nicolina
; Santos, C.
; Lima, Nelson
Data: 2010
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/1822/17299
Origem: RepositóriUM - Universidade do Minho
Descrição
Objective: Trichophyton rubrum is presently the most common
worldwide pathogen causing dermatophytoses such as tinea corporis,
tinea capitis, tinea pedis, and onychomycosis [1]. The main aim
of the present work was assess MALDI-TOF ICMS as a fast and
reliable technique in the identification of T. rubrum from clinical
cases occurrence in the Portuguese health centres, and evaluates the
potentialities and limits of this new microbial identification technique
on the taxonomy of these infectious dermatophytes.
Methods: Fungi were grown for 10 days in solid medium (SDA,
Sabouraud Dextrose Agar) and then the mycelia were direct transferred
from the SDA plate to the MALDI stainless steel template and mixed
with 1 ml MALDI matrix solution (75 mg/ml 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid
in ethanol/water/acetonitrile [1:1:1] with 0.03% trifluoroacetic acid).
The sample mixtures were air dried at room temperature. The analyses
were performed in our laboratory on an Axima LNR system (Kratos
Analytical, Shimadzu, Manchester, UK) equipped with a nitrogen laser
(337 nm). The mass range from m/z = 2,000 to 20,000 Da was recorded.
Escherichia coli strain DH5a with known mass values of ribosomal
proteins was used for external calibration. The fungi classification was
performed on the SARAMIS software (AnagnosTec mbH, Potsdam-
Golm, Germany). Molecular biology was used when appropriated
with PCR based-technology. The presence of a 203-bp PCR product
confirmed T. rubrum identification.
Results: All strains were accurately and consistently identified as
T. rubrum by MALDI-TOF ICMS combined to SARAMIS database
analysis. Spectral mass analysis proven to be a rapid method since
the analysis took only a few minutes to perform with the benefit of
any laborious sample preparation procedures or any expensive chemical
reagent was needed.
Conclusions: The fungal spectral analysis by MALDI-TOF ICMS was
as good as molecular biology in order to identify T. rubrum but much
faster and cheaper.