Open AccessThe discriminatory power of MALDI‐TOF mass spectrometry to differentiate between isogenic teicoplanin‐susceptible and teicoplanin‐resistant strains of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Author(s) -
Majcherczyk Paul A.,
McKenna Therese,
Moreillon Philippe,
Vaudaux Pierre
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2005.00060.x
Subject(s) - teicoplanin , microbiology and biotechnology , peptidoglycan , staphylococcus aureus , matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization , mass spectrometry , gel electrophoresis , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , chemistry , biology , bacteria , chromatography , vancomycin , genetics , desorption , organic chemistry , adsorption
To explore the discriminatory power of matrix‐assisted laser desorption ionization‐time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) for detecting subtle differences in isogenic isolates, we tested isogenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus differing in their expression of resistance to methicillin or teicoplanin. More important changes in MALDI‐TOF MS spectra were found with strains differing in methicillin than in teicoplanin resistance. In comparison, very minor or no changes were recorded in pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis profiles or peptidoglycan muropeptide digest patterns of these strains, respectively. MALDI‐TOF MS might be useful to detect subtle strain‐specific differences in ionizable components released from bacterial surfaces and not from their peptidoglycan network.