Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a widely adopted technique for bacterial and yeast identification in clinical laboratories but is less frequently applied to filamentous fungi due to inconsistent performance, limitations of commercial lib...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tsung-Fu Tsai, Yun-Chen Fan, Jang-Jih Lu, Chun-Chih Chien, Hsin-Yao Wang, Pei-Lun Sun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Fungi
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/2/107
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850229940027392000
author Tsung-Fu Tsai
Yun-Chen Fan
Jang-Jih Lu
Chun-Chih Chien
Hsin-Yao Wang
Pei-Lun Sun
author_facet Tsung-Fu Tsai
Yun-Chen Fan
Jang-Jih Lu
Chun-Chih Chien
Hsin-Yao Wang
Pei-Lun Sun
author_sort Tsung-Fu Tsai
collection DOAJ
description Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a widely adopted technique for bacterial and yeast identification in clinical laboratories but is less frequently applied to filamentous fungi due to inconsistent performance, limitations of commercial libraries, and variability of preparation methods. This study aimed to validate the efficiency of MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification using the Bruker Biotyper system. Focusing on species from the <i>Trichophyton</i>, <i>Nannizzia</i>, <i>Microsporum</i>, and <i>Epidermophyton</i> genera, an in-house reference library was established and evaluated with clinical isolates. The expanded library, which combined the in-house and Bruker libraries, achieved significantly higher accuracy than the Bruker library alone, correctly identifying 90.7% (107/118) of isolates at the species level compared to 16.1% (19/118) by the Bruker library. This study presents an efficient, standardized MALDI-TOF MS protocol for routine dermatophyte identification and provides a review of the current status and influencing factors in MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification strategies.
format Article
id doaj-art-44eee1b64c3c45c2ad766f0cd1d174f4
institution OA Journals
issn 2309-608X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Fungi
spelling doaj-art-44eee1b64c3c45c2ad766f0cd1d174f42025-08-20T02:04:01ZengMDPI AGJournal of Fungi2309-608X2025-01-0111210710.3390/jof11020107Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass SpectrometryTsung-Fu Tsai0Yun-Chen Fan1Jang-Jih Lu2Chun-Chih Chien3Hsin-Yao Wang4Pei-Lun Sun5Department of Dermatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanResearch Laboratory of Medical Mycology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanDivision of Clinical Pathology, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City 231, TaiwanDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kaohsiung 833, TaiwanDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanDepartment of Dermatology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou Branch, Taoyuan 333, TaiwanMatrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a widely adopted technique for bacterial and yeast identification in clinical laboratories but is less frequently applied to filamentous fungi due to inconsistent performance, limitations of commercial libraries, and variability of preparation methods. This study aimed to validate the efficiency of MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification using the Bruker Biotyper system. Focusing on species from the <i>Trichophyton</i>, <i>Nannizzia</i>, <i>Microsporum</i>, and <i>Epidermophyton</i> genera, an in-house reference library was established and evaluated with clinical isolates. The expanded library, which combined the in-house and Bruker libraries, achieved significantly higher accuracy than the Bruker library alone, correctly identifying 90.7% (107/118) of isolates at the species level compared to 16.1% (19/118) by the Bruker library. This study presents an efficient, standardized MALDI-TOF MS protocol for routine dermatophyte identification and provides a review of the current status and influencing factors in MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification strategies.https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/2/107dermatophytesfungiMALDI-TOF mass spectrometry<i>Trichophyton</i><i>Nannizzia</i><i>Microsporum</i>
spellingShingle Tsung-Fu Tsai
Yun-Chen Fan
Jang-Jih Lu
Chun-Chih Chien
Hsin-Yao Wang
Pei-Lun Sun
Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
Journal of Fungi
dermatophytes
fungi
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry
<i>Trichophyton</i>
<i>Nannizzia</i>
<i>Microsporum</i>
title Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
title_full Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
title_fullStr Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
title_full_unstemmed Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
title_short Identification of Challenging Dermatophyte Species Using Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
title_sort identification of challenging dermatophyte species using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry
topic dermatophytes
fungi
MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry
<i>Trichophyton</i>
<i>Nannizzia</i>
<i>Microsporum</i>
url https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/11/2/107
work_keys_str_mv AT tsungfutsai identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry
AT yunchenfan identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry
AT jangjihlu identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry
AT chunchihchien identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry
AT hsinyaowang identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry
AT peilunsun identificationofchallengingdermatophytespeciesusingmatrixassistedlaserdesorptionionizationtimeofflightmassspectrometry