English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Rapid diagnostics of bacterial infection is the key to successful recovery and eradication of the disease. Currently, identification of bacteria is based on the detection of highly abundant proteins, mainly ribosomal proteins, by routine MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. However, relying solely on proteins is limited in subspecies typing for some pathogens. This is the case for, for example, the mycobacteria belonging to the  Mycobacterium abscessus  (MABS) complex, which is classified into three subspecies, namely,  M. abscessus  subsp.  abscessus ,  M. abscessus  subsp.  bolletii , and  M. abscessus  subsp.  massiliense . Being able to detect bacteria accurately and rapidly at the subspecies level could not only reliably identify the pathogen causing the disease but also enable better antibiotic stewardship. For instance,  M. abscessus  subsp.  abscessus  and  M. abscessus  subsp.  bolletii  possess a functional erm41 (erythromycin ribosomal methylation gene 41) gene, whilst  M. abscessus  subsp.  massiliense  does not, resulting in differences in macrolide antibiotic (e.g., clarithromycin and azithromycin) susceptibilities. This presents a challenge for physicians when designing an appropriate treatment regimen. To address this challenge, in addition to proteins, species-specific lipids have now been considered as a game changer in clinical microbiology diagnostics. However, their extraction can be time-consuming, and analysis requires the use of apolar toxic organic solvents (e.g., chloroform). Here, we present a new method to accurately detect species and subspecies, allowing the discrimination of the mycobacteria within the MABS complex and relying on the use of ethanol. We found that a combination of the matrix named super-DHB with 25% ethanol with a bacterial suspension at McFarland 20 gave robust and reproducible data, allowing the discrimination of the bacteria within the MABS complex strains tested in this study ( n  = 9). Further investigations have to be conducted to validate the method on a larger panel of strains for its use in diagnostic laboratories.

An Improved Method for Rapid Detection of Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Based on Species-Specific Lipid Fingerprint by Routine MALDI-TOF