Classification of the Genus Bacillus Based on MALDI-TOF MS Analysis of Ribosomal Proteins Coded in S10 and spc Operons

A rapid bacterial identification method by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) using ribosomal proteins coded in S10 and spc operons as biomarkers, named the S10-GERMS (the S10-spc-alpha operon gene encoded ribosomal protein mass spectrum) method, was applied for the genus Bacillus a Gram-positive bacterium. The S10-GERMS method could successfully distinguish the difference between B. subtilis subsp. subtilis NBRC 13719(T) and B. subtilis subsp. spizizenii NBRC 101239(T) because of the mass difference of 2 ribosomal subunit proteins, despite the difference of only 2 bases in the 16S rRNA gene between them. The 8 selected reliable and reproducible ribosomal subunit proteins without disturbance of S/N level on MALDI-TOF MS analysis, S10, S14, S19, L18, L22, L24, L29, and L30, coded in S10 and spc operons were significantly useful biomarkers for rapid bacterial classification at species and strain levels by the S10-GERMS method of genus Bacillus strains without purification of ribosomal proteins.