Identification of flea species using MALDI-TOF/MS

Amina Yssouf; Cristina Socolovschi; Hamza Leulmi; Tahar Kernif; Idir Bitam; Gilles Audoly; Lionel Almeras; Didier Raoult; Philippe Parola

doi:10.1016/j.cimid.2014.05.002

Identification of flea species using MALDI-TOF/MS

Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 2014 May;37(3):153-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cimid.2014.05.002. Epub 2014 May 17.

Authors

Amina Yssouf¹, Cristina Socolovschi¹, Hamza Leulmi¹, Tahar Kernif², Idir Bitam³, Gilles Audoly¹, Lionel Almeras¹, Didier Raoult⁴, Philippe Parola⁵

Affiliations

¹ Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, WHO Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France.
² Institut Pasteur d'Algérie, 1 Rue du Docteur Laveran, Hamma, Alger, Algeria.
³ Laboratoire Biodiversité et Environnement: Interactions, Génomes, Faculté des Sciences Biologique, Université des Sciences et de la Technologie Houari Boumediene, Alger, Algeria.
⁴ Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, WHO Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France. Electronic address: didier.raoult@gmail.com.
⁵ Aix Marseille Université, Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), UM63, CNRS 7278, IRD 198, Inserm 1095, WHO Collaborative Center for Rickettsioses and Other Arthropod-Borne Bacterial Diseases, Faculté de Médecine, 27 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5, France. Electronic address: philippe.parola@univ-amu.fr.

PMID: 24878069
DOI: 10.1016/j.cimid.2014.05.002

Abstract

In the present study, a molecular proteomics (MALDI-TOF/MS) approach was used as a tool for identifying flea vectors. We measured the MS spectra from 38 flea specimens of 5 species including Ctenocephalides felis, Ctenocephalides canis, Archaeopsylla erinacei, Xenopsylla cheopis and Stenoponia tripectinata. A blind test performed with 24 specimens from species included in a library spectral database confirmed that MALDI-TOF/MS is an effective tool for discriminating flea species. Although fresh and 70% ethanol-conserved samples subjected to MALDI-TOF/MS in blind tests were correctly classified, only MS spectra of quality from fresh specimens were sufficient for accurate and significant identification. A cluster analysis highlighted that the MALDI Biotyper can be used for studying the phylogeny of fleas.

Keywords: Fleas; Identification; MALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry.

MeSH terms

Animals
Databases, Factual
Ethanol
Female
Larva / chemistry
Male
Molecular Typing / methods*
Phylogeny*
Proteomics*
Siphonaptera / chemistry
Siphonaptera / classification*
Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization
Tissue Fixation

Substances

Ethanol