title: Mass spectrometry provides accurate characterization of two genetic marker types in Bacillus anthracis.
abstract: Epidemiological and forensic analyses of bioterrorism events involving Bacillus anthracis could be improved if both variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) could be combined on a single analysis platform. Here we present the use of electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICR-MS) to characterize 24 alleles from 6 VNTR loci and 11 alleles from 7 SNP loci in B. anthracis. The results obtained with ESI-FTICR-MS were consistent with independent results obtained from traditional approaches using electrophoretic detection of fluorescent products. However, ESI-FTICR-MS improves on the traditional approaches because it does not require fluorescent labeling of PCR products, minimizes post-PCR processing, obviates electrophoresis, and provides unambiguous base composition of both SNP and VNTR PCR products. In addition, ESI-FTICR-MS allows both marker types to be examined simultaneously and at a rate of approximately 1 sample per min. This technology represents a significant advance in our ability to rapidly characterize B. anthracis isolates using VNTR and SNP loci.
authors.affiliation: Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5640, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Van Ert
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Hofstadler
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Jared J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Drader
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Ecker
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Hannis
authors.forename: Lynn Y
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Schupp
authors.forename: Tatum S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Simonson
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Keim
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001408:Bacillus anthracis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D023482:Bioterrorism; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005838:Genotype; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D021241:Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization / Q000379:methods*; D020080:Tandem Repeat Sequences
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers