The Clinical Utility of Two High-Throughput 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing Workflows for Taxonomic Assignment of Unidentifiable Bacterial Pathogens in Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

Bacterial pathogens that cannot be identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) are occasionally encountered in clinical laboratories. The 16S rRNA gene is often used for sequence-based analysis to identify these bacterial species.