Background

Identification of dermatophytes is usually performed through morphological analyses. However, it may be hindered due to the discovery of new species and complexes and, with some isolates, by the absence of fructification. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) seems to be an option for improving identification.

Aims

To develop a database (DB) for the identification of dermatophytes with MALDI-TOF MS, including 32 isolates from the Red de Micología de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires [Mycology Network of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires] (RMCABA) and one reference isolate (RMCABA DB), and evaluate its performance when added to the DB from the supplier, Bruker (Bruker DB).

Methods

All the isolates in the RMCABA DB were identified based on morphology and sequencing. To evaluate the performance of the extended DB (Bruker DB plus RMCABA DB), 136 clinical isolates were included.

Results

The percentages of identification at the species level increased from 45% to 88%, but the identification at the genus level decreased from 23% to 7%.

Conclusions

MALDI-TOF MS yielded better performance in the identification of dermatophytes after including the RMCABA DB, which encompassed local isolates.

中文翻译：

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MALDI-TOF 质谱技术鉴定皮肤癣菌的评估：扩展数据库的使用

背景

皮肤癣菌的鉴定通常通过形态学分析进行。然而，由于新物种和复合体的发现，以及某些分离株的缺乏结果，它可能会受到阻碍。基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI-TOF MS) 似乎是改善识别的一种选择。

目标

开发用于使用 MALDI-TOF MS 鉴定皮肤癣菌的数据库 (DB)，其中包括来自布宜诺斯艾利斯自治市真菌学网络 (RMCABA) 的 32 个分离株和一个参考文献隔离 (RMCABA DB)，并评估其添加到供应商 Bruker (Bruker DB) 的 DB 中时的性能。

方法

RMCABA DB 中的所有分离株均根据形态学和测序进行鉴定。为了评估扩展 DB（Bruker DB 加 RMCABA DB）的性能，纳入了 136 个临床分离株。

结果

种级鉴定率从45%上升到88%，属级鉴定率从23%下降到7%。

结论

在纳入包含本地分离株的 RMCABA DB 后，MALDI-TOF MS 在皮肤癣菌鉴定方面取得了更好的性能。