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

Summary

This study shows that a specialized technique called MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry can quickly and accurately identify skin fungal infections caused by dermatophytes. By creating a library of local fungal strains from Taiwan and combining it with commercial databases, researchers achieved over 90% accuracy in identifying different dermatophyte species. This practical method could help doctors diagnose fungal infections faster and choose better treatments.

Background

MALDI-TOF MS is widely used for bacterial and yeast identification but less frequently applied to filamentous fungi due to inconsistent performance and limited commercial library coverage. Dermatophytes are key fungal pathogens causing various skin infections, but traditional identification methods are labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Objective

This study aimed to validate the efficiency of MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification using the Bruker Biotyper system by establishing an in-house reference library and evaluating its performance with clinical isolates from Trichophyton, Nannizzia, Microsporum, and Epidermophyton genera.

Results

The expanded library achieved 90.7% (107/118) species-level identification accuracy compared to 16.1% (19/118) with Bruker library alone. Identification rates for expanded library were 88.0-100% for Trichophyton species, 100% for Microsporum canis, and 75.0-100% for Nannizzia species at LS cutoff 1.7.

Conclusion

An in-house reference library significantly enhances MALDI-TOF MS-based dermatophyte identification, providing a practical and standardized protocol for routine clinical use. The expanded library effectively distinguishes challenging dermatophyte species and demonstrates superior performance compared to commercial libraries alone.
  • Published in:Journal of Fungi,
  • Study Type:Validation Study,
  • Source: PMID: 39997401, DOI: 10.3390/jof11020107
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