Assessment of VITEK® 2, MALDI-TOF MS and full gene 16S rRNA sequencing for aerobic endospore-forming bacteria isolated from a pharmaceutical facility

Abstract

VITEK®2, MALDI-TOF MS and 16S rRNA sequencing were evaluated for the identification of aerobic endospore-forming bacteria (AEB) from a pharmaceutical facility. MALDI-TOF MS demonstrated higher accuracy compared to VITEK®2, although both databases were insufficient to identify AEB species. Sequencing was the best methodology, but unable to identify closely related species.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Bacterial identification; MALDI-TOF MS; Pharmaceutical industry; Phenotypic characterization.