title: A single nucleotide polymorphism identification assay for the genotypic characterisation of Neisseria meningitidis using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.
abstract: The ability of matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) to identify virulent clones of meningococci quickly and accurately is investigated. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the fumC gene which differentiates between the hypervirulent ET-15 strain and other ET-37 complex strains is used to determine the usefulness of this method. In this study, MALDI-TOF proved to be a fast, effective alternative to traditional DNA sequencing for the identification of an individual nucleotide.
authors.affiliation: Scottish Meningococcus and Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory, North Glasgow University Hospitals Trust, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Lowe
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Diggle
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Clarke
mesh_terms: D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D009345:Neisseria meningitidis / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods