title: Bacillus spore identification via proteolytic peptide mapping with a miniaturized MALDI TOF mass spectrometer.
abstract: An approach is tested here as a rapid screening method for Bacillus spore species employing bacterial peptide analysis with a miniaturized MALDI TOF mass spectrometer. A limited set of tryptic peptides was generated in situ following selective solubilization of the small, acid-soluble protein family (SASP) from spore samples on the MALDI sample holder. To facilitate species identification, a compact database was created comprising masses of the tryptic cleavage products generated in silico from all Bacillus and Clostridium SASPs whose sequences are available in public databases. Experimental measurements were matched against the custom-made database, and a published statistical model was then used to evaluate the probability of false identifications.
authors.affiliation: Middle Atlantic Mass Spectrometry Laboratory, Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: English
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Warscheid
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fenselau
authors.forename: Robert J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cotter
mesh_terms: D001407:Bacillus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D003013:Clostridium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008904:Miniaturization; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins