Usefulness of MALDI-TOF and REP-PCR against PFGE for the epidemiological study of Acinetobacter baumannii

Abstract

Objective. To evaluate the ability of MALDI-TOF MS and rep-PCR to discriminate Acinetobacter baumannii clones. Material and methods. A total of 21 strains of A. baumannii with different epidemiological and phenotipycal characteristics were included in the study. All isolates were analyzed in parallel by MALDI-TOF MS and rep-PCR and the spectra obtained were compared with each other and with the results obtained by pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Isolates with a similarity equal to or greater than 87% were considered to be part of the same clonal group. Results. The analysis of the 21 isolates included in the study, resulted in 8 clonal groups using PFGE, 3 groups by MALDI-TOF MS and 7 groups by rep-PCR analysis. The isolates that formed the different groups by the 3 techniques used were totally different, so it can be concluded that there is no equivalence between the results obtained with the three typing methods used. Conclusions. Despite its simplicity, neither MALDI-TOF MS nor rep-PCR can at this time replace PFGE for the epidemiological study of A. baumannii.