APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, Jan. 2004, p. 475–482
0099-2240/04/$08.00⫹0 DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.1.475–482.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Vol. 70, No. 1
Species Differentiation of a Diverse Suite of Bacillus Spores by Mass
Spectrometry-Based Protein Profiling
Danielle N. Dickinson,1* Myron T. La Duc,2 William E. Haskins,3 Igor Gornushkin,1
James D. Winefordner,1 David H. Powell,1 and Kasthuri Venkateswaran2
Department of Chemistry1 and McKnight Brain Institute,3 University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611, and NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 911092
Received 17 July 2003/Accepted 7 October 2003
In this study, we demonstrate the versatility of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time-of-flight
mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS) protein profiling for the species differentiation of a diverse suite of
Bacillus spores. MALDI-TOFMS protein profiles of 11 different strains of Bacillus spores, encompassing nine
different species, were evaluated. Bacillus species selected for MALDI-TOFMS analysis represented the sporeforming bacterial diversity of typical class 100K clean room spacecraft assembly facilities. A one-step sample
treatment and MALDI-TOFMS preparation were used to minimize the sample preparation time. A library of
MALDI-TOFMS spectra was created from these nine Bacillus species, the most diverse protein profiling study
of the genus reported to date. Linear correlation analysis was used to successfully differentiate the MALDITOFMS protein profiles from all strains evaluated in this study. The MALDI-TOFMS protein profiles were
compared with 16S rDNA sequences for their bacterial systematics and molecular phylogenetic affiliations. The
MALDI-TOFMS profiles were found to be complementary to the 16S rDNA analysis. Proteomic studies of
Bacillus subtilis 168 were pursued to identify proteins represented by the biomarker peaks in the MALDITOFMS spectrum. Four small, acid-soluble proteins (A, B, C, and D), one DNA binding protein, hypothetical
protein ymf J, and four proteins associated with the spore coat and spore coat formation (coat JB, coat F, coat
T, and spoIVA) were identified. The ability to visualize higher-molecular-mass coat proteins (10 to 25 kDa) as
well as smaller proteins (<10 kDa) with MALDI-TOFMS profiling is critical for the complete and effective
species differentiation of the Bacillus genus.
Rapid, sensitive, and selective microbial detection and identification at the species and strain level are necessary to differentiate between viable pathogenic and nonpathogenic microbial species. The development of technology to accomplish
this level of distinction for microbial species would have a
significant impact on occupational and health care, homeland
defense, and environmental monitoring. For over a century,
microbial identification techniques have depended on conventional culture-based methods that characterize phenotypic differences and rely on biochemical and morphological tests.
These methods are time-consuming and laborious, and the
results are often subjective (38, 41). In order to overcome the
problems involved with phenotypic characterization, 16S
rRNA analysis has been used for decades to more accurately
define the phylogenetic affiliation of the given test microorganism (29). However, being highly conserved, the 16S rRNA
molecule at times cannot differentiate closely related microbial
species (41, 43). Therefore, alternative biomarkers (44) or a
suite of protein profiling methods would be useful in order to
effectively differentiate closely related microbial species.
Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time-of-flight
mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS)-based microbial detection technology has been evaluated to rapidly detect and discriminate microbial species. MALDI-TOFMS is well suited for
this task due to its rapid analysis time (⬍1 min), low sample
requirement (⬍2.5 l), sensitivity, reproducibility, and resolving power. Analysis of whole bacterial cells and spores with this
technique has given rise to unique protein fingerprints that can
be used for identification at the species and strain level (5, 7, 9,
19, 20, 25, 26, 40). Vegetative cells generally produce a relatively large number of biomarker proteins that can be used for
subsequent pattern recognition or correlation analysis (1, 16,
17). In contrast, the extraction of proteins from spores has
been more challenging, giving only a limited number of biomarker peaks compared to results for their vegetative counterparts (8, 14, 35). Various sample pretreatments including
infrared laser irradiation (34, 39), corona plasma discharge (4,
14), sonication (14), and the addition of 5% trifluoroacetic acid
(34) or 1 M HCl (15) have been used to successfully extract
proteins from spores. However, in most cases, these treatments
required longer sample preparation times, and the visualization of peaks above 10 kDa is limited.
A majority of the MALDI-TOFMS research directed at
spore detection has focused on only a few Bacillus species.
These include Bacillus anthracis and its closely related species
B. thuringiensis and B. cereus (43); B. atrophaeus (formally
called B. globigii) (27), an anthrax surrogate; and B. subtilis,
whose genome is completely sequenced and whose molecular
biology has been thoroughly examined (8, 14, 15, 21, 32). Very
little research has been done on other Bacillus species which
naturally occur in the environment. The genus Bacillus is one
of the largest, most ubiquitous, genera of bacteria, containing
65 valid species with new species being continually described
(31). The nonpathogenic Bacillus spores are the most likely
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: University of Florida, Department of Chemistry, P.O. Box 117200, Gainesville, FL 32611-7200.
Phone: (352) 392-2607. Fax: (352) 392-4651. E-mail: danielled@chem
.ufl.edu.
475
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APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL.
TABLE 1. List of Bacillus species evaluated in this study
Organism
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
atrophaeus
licheniformis
licheniformis
megaterium
mojavensis
odysseyi
psychrodurans
pumilus
subtilis
subtilis
thuringiensis
Strain
Sourcea
9372
14580
KL-196
14581
51516
PTA-4399
VSE1-06
7061
168
6051
10792
ATCC
ATCC
JPL-SAF
ATCC
ATCC
KSC, SAEF-II
KSC, PHSF
ATCC
University of Arizona
ATCC
ATCC
Remarks
Surrogate to B. anthracis
Most predominant species in clean room facilities
Class 100K clean room floor, JPL
Mars Odyssey spacecraft surface
Mars Exploration Rover assembly facility air particles
Second-most predominant species in clean room facilities
Genome fully sequenced
Type species of Bacillus genus
Insecticide-producing bacteria and phylogenetically
inseparable from B. anthracis
a
SAF, spacecraft assembly facility; SAEF-II, spacecraft assembly and encapsulation facility-II; PHSF, payload hazardous service facility; JPL, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory; KSC, Kennedy Space Center.
sources of interference for any detection technique and have
the highest potential to produce false positives.
To demonstrate the versatility of MALDI-TOFMS protein
profiling for the identification of a variety of spores, a subset of
Bacillus species isolated from various NASA spacecraft assembly facilities (classes 10 to 100K clean rooms) was used in this
study. A one-step sample treatment and MALDI-TOFMS
preparation were used to rapidly obtain spectra with a wide
range of protein biomarkers, including several higher-molecular-mass (10 to 25 kDa) protein species. A library of MALDITOFMS spectra was created from 11 different spores of Bacillus species, which encompassed nine different species, the most
diverse study of the genus reported to date. Linear correlation
analysis was used to identify all Bacillus species evaluated. The
results obtained from MALDI-TOFMS protein profiling of
these Bacillus spores were compared with 16S rDNA sequences for their bacterial systematics and molecular phylogenetic affiliations.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Bacterial strains. Bacillus strains used in this study and their sources are listed
in Table 1. Eleven strains consisting of nine Bacillus species were studied in
which the type strains of B. atrophaeus, B. licheniformis, B. megaterium, B. mojavensis, B. thuringiensis, B. pumilus, and B. subtilis were procured from the
American Type Culture Collection (ATCC; Manassas, Va.). B. subtilis 168 was
received as a gift from Wayne Nicholson (University of Arizona). B. odysseyi, B.
licheniformis KL-196, and B. psychrodurans were isolated from several NASA
spacecraft and assembly facility surfaces. One additional strain each of B. licheniformis and B. subtilis was included in the study to compare the MALDI-TOFMS
profiles of the same species. Bacterial isolation procedures from spacecraft and
assembly facility surfaces were described elsewhere (22, 42). The identity of the
test organisms was determined based on 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequencing for the environmental isolates, whereas for the ATCC strains, sequences
available in the GenBank database were used (23). The 16S ribosomal DNA
(rDNA) sequences of the environmental isolates have been deposited in the
GenBank nucleotide sequence database.
Sporulation of Bacillus isolates. A nutrient broth sporulation medium was
used to produce spores (28, 36). A single purified colony of the strain to be
sporulated was inoculated into the nutrient broth sporulation liquid medium.
After 1 to 3 days of incubation at 32°C under shaking conditions, cultures were
examined by phase-contrast microscopy to determine the level of sporulation.
Microcosms that attained ⬎99% of spores were further purified to remove
vegetative cells or cell debris as previously reported (28). The purified spores
were suspended in sterile deionized water and stored at 4°C in glass tubes until
analyzed. Before the analysis, spore suspensions were adjusted to give an optical
density of 0.6 at 600 nm (OD600), which resulted in suspensions that were
between 108 to 109 spores/ml.
16S rDNA sequencing. Purified genomic DNA (18) from liquid-grown cultures
was quantified and ⬃10 ng of DNA was used as the template for PCR amplification. Universal primers (Bact 11 and 1492) were used to amplify the 1.5-kb 16S
rDNA fragment as per protocols established by Ruimy et al. (33). Amplicons
generated were purified with Qiagen columns (Valencia, Calif.) and sequenced
as described elsewhere (22, 42). The phylogenetic relationships of organisms
covered in this study were determined by comparison of individual 16S rDNA
sequences to other existing sequences in the public database (GenBank; http://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/). Evolutionary trees were constructed with the PAUP
program (37).
Sample preparation for mass spectrometry. A saturated matrix solution was
prepared by dissolving 20 mg of ferulic acid into a 1-ml solution of 30% acetonitrile and 40% formic acid. This solvent system was selected due to the higher
signal-to-noise ratio, consistent crystallization, and better ability to differentiate
across the various bacterial species evaluated in this study. This effect is due to
a combination of an increased number of biomarker peaks and the highermolecular-weight range of these peaks in the spectra (D. N. Dickinson, W. E.
Haskins, S. H. Powell, J. D. Winefordner, M. T. La Duc, and K. Venkateswaran,
Proc. 52nd Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., abstr. AO32385, 2003, and
D. N. Dickinson, D. H. Powell, J. D. Winfornder, M. J. Kempf, and K. Venkateswaran, Proc. 51st Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., abstr. AO20728,
2002). A 2.5-l aliquot of the spore suspension (OD660, 0.6) was added to 22.5
l of the matrix solution. This mixture was vortexed briefly, and then 1 l of the
sample containing both spores and matrix compound was removed and spotted
on a SCOUT26 MALDI plate (Bruker Daltonics, Billerica, Mass.). Spots were
allowed to air dry. No further treatments were applied to the spots once they
were dried. Two spots were prepared for each sample mixture. Sample preparation required only a few minutes per sample.
Mass spectrometry analysis. MALDI-TOFMS analysis was preformed on a
Bruker Daltonics Reflex II mass spectrometer retrofitted with delayed extraction. The instrument was operated in the linear mode. A nitrogen laser (337 nm)
pulsed at a frequency of 5 Hz irradiated the sample. Spectra were obtained in the
positive ion mode with a delay time of 50 ns. The acceleration voltage was 20 kV.
An ion deflector was used to deflect low-mass ions that would saturate the
detector, and for all experiments the deflector was set at 3,000 Da. The laser
intensity was adjusted to just above the threshold for ion formation for each
sample. The instrument was calibrated daily by external calibration with a mixture of bovine insulin and equine cytochrome c. All spectra represent the accumulation of 50 laser shots. Ten spectra were collected from each spot on the
MALDI plate. A total of 20 spectra were collected per spore sample.
Spectral processing and statistical methodology. Prior to statistical analysis,
each spectrum was baseline corrected and smoothed according to a ten-point
Savitzky-Golay smoothing algorithm. Normalized spectra were converted into
ASCII files for statistical processing. Because linear correlation is invariant with
respect to a linear transformation of spectra, the relative, not absolute, intensities
were important for correlation analysis. Statistical analysis of the data was performed by using linear correlation software developed in-house with Visual Basic
6.0 (10–12). Spectra from the mass spectrometer were imported into the software
as ASCII files, and libraries were created from the average of the 20 spectra
collected per sample (10 spectra per spot). Correlation analysis was performed
VOL. 70, 2004
PROTEIN PROFILING OF BACILLUS SPORES
477
atrophaeus X60607
licheniformis AF387515
licheniformis X68416
megaterium X60629
mojavensis AB021191
odysseyi AF526913
psychrodurans VSE1 06
pumilus AB020208
subtilis 168 rrnA
subtilis X60646
thuringiensis X55062
100
96.9
98.5
94.4
99.3
92.0
91.8
97.6
99.4
99.3
95.2
100
98.3
92.7
96.7
90.1
90.5
94.9
96.9
96.7
92.9
100
94.1
98.4
91.5
91.5
96.3
98.6
98.3
94.2
100
94.1
93.4
92.9
94.3
94.1
94.1
94.7
on a point-to-point basis based on the following equation for the correlation
coefficient r:
冘
冑冘
共xi ⫺ x 兲共yi ⫺ y 兲
r⫽
i
共xi ⫺ x 兲2
冑
冘
共yi ⫺ y 兲2
where x is the mean of xi’s and y is the mean of yi’s. xi’s and yi’s are the intensities
at the i-th pixel of the detector (i ⫽ 1 . . . N); the xi’s belong to an analyzed
spectrum, and the yi’s belong to one of the library spectra. The spectrum consisting of xi’s is correlated against each spectrum in the library (different sets of
yi’s), and the closest match with the highest correlation coefficient indicated a
similarity of this spectrum with the corresponding library spectrum. On the other
hand, the difference between this and other correlation coefficients signified
spectral dissimilarities. To quantify the level of significance of these differences,
a simple t test was applied. Student t values were calculated differently depending
on whether the two distributions had the same or different variances. To check
this, an F test (where F denotes the ratio of the variances) was applied as the
basis of t values. The probabilities that two distributions of correlation coefficients had different means were calculated.
A reference library, comprising the average spectrum created from the 20
spectra collected for each spore sample, was produced for all of the 11 species
evaluated in this study. The individual spectra and the average spectrum obtained from the 11 strains were then compared to the MALDI-TOFMS profiles
of the various spores stored in the library to elucidate the bacterial speciation. To
evaluate the reproducibility of the technique, a separate set of MALDI-TOFMS
spectra was collected and averaged from all of the strains in this study. The
averages of these separate analyses were compared with the library spectra.
Additionally, to address batch-to-batch variability, B. subtilis 168 spore cultures
prepared at different times over the course of 2 years were analyzed and compared to the library spectra.
Proteomic analysis. The MALDI protein extract from the spores of B. subtilis
168 were subjected to proteomic analysis. A 2.5-l aliquot of the spore suspension (OD660, 0.6) was diluted in 22.5 l of 40% formic acid–30% acetonitrile.
This sample was vortexed briefly and then centrifuged for 5 min at 9,600 ⫻ g. The
supernatant (MALDI extract) was removed and placed in a clean microcentrifuge vial. The solvent was removed with a Speed Vac concentrator, and the
sample was reconstituted in a solution of 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate. Trypsin was added at a 50:1 ratio to the sample, and the proteins were digested
overnight at 37°C. Tryptic peptides were analyzed by capillary liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (CLC-MS2) with a system similar to that described elsewhere (13). Sequence information was obtained for tryptic peptides
via collision-induced dissociation. The mass-to-charge (m/z) ratios of the precursor ion and product ions for each tryptic peptide were searched against the
National Center for Biotechnology Information protein database by using the
Sequest (45) and Mascot (30) algorithms for protein identification.
100
91.8
91.5
96.9
99.7
99.6
94.3
100
95.4
91.8
91.6
91.6
92.8
100
92.4
91.4
91.2
92.0
100
97.2
96.9
94.3
100
99.8
94.2
100
94.3
B. thuringiensis X55062
B. subtilis X60646
B. subtilis 168 rrnA
B. pumilus AB020208
B. psychrodurans VSE1 06
B. odysseyi AF526913
B. mojavensis AB021191
B. megaterium X60629
B. licheniformis X68416
B. atrophaeus X60607
Organism and accession no.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B. licheniformis AF387515
TABLE 2. The 16S rDNA sequence similarities (%) for Bacillus species in this study
100
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Incidence of spore-forming microbes from spacecraft and
associated environment. Among several hundred aerobic
spore-forming bacteria isolated from several spacecraft and
associated facility surfaces, ⬎90% of the isolates were found to
be phylogenetically affiliated to the members of the genus
Bacillus (22, 23, 42). B. licheniformis (25%) and B. pumilus
(16%) were the most prevalent Bacillus species isolated. Since
B. licheniformis was the most prevalent Bacillus species in the
environment and B. subtilis is the type species of the Bacillus
genus, multiple strains of these species were included in this
study. Bacillus species selected in this study for MALDITOFMS analysis represent the spore-forming bacterial diversity of typical class 100K clean room facilities (22, 23, 42). In
order to avoid confusion about the identity of the bacterial
species, wherever possible, authentic type strains were procured from the culture collection and used. Phenotypically, all
tested Bacillus species fall in group II except B. psychrodurans
and B. odysseyi, which are in group IV (31). Group II includes
aerobic Bacillus species that produce acid from a variety of
sugars including glucose and whose spores are ellipsoidal and
do not swell the mother cell. Group IV Bacillus species are also
aerobic; however, they do not produce acids from sugars, and
even though they also produce ellipsoidal spores, they swell the
mother cell. The phenotypic group II Bacillus species are genotypically grouped as rRNA group I and the phenotypic
group IV Bacillus species studied here are considered rRNA
group II (3). As the Bacillus species of other rRNA groups
were not isolated from class 100K clean room facilities (22–24,
42), we restricted the characterization of the species by
MALDI-TOFMS to 11 members of these two rRNA groups.
Molecular phylogeny of spore-forming microbes. The sequence similarities based on 16S rDNA sequences of the various Bacillus species tested are shown in Table 2. These sequences were either obtained from the GenBank database or
were sequenced in previous studies (22–24, 42). The similarities in 16S rDNA nucleotide sequences between the tested
FIG. 1. MALDI-TOFMS protein profiles of the 11 Bacillus species analyzed in this study. The mass range depicted is from m/z 3,000 to 25,000.
The higher-molecular-mass region from m/z 9,500 to 25,000 is amplified four times (see inset of each spectrum) in order to visualize the
higher-molecular-weight peaks that are present but are at much lower abundance in the samples.
478
VOL. 70, 2004
Bacillus species, recognized by GenBank BLAST searches,
were between 91 and 99%. A sequence variation of ⬃9% was
found between rRNA groups I and II Bacillus species. A very
high sequence variation within a well-described genus is not
uncommon. Further analyses indicated that B. atrophaeus
shares a close phylogenetic relationship with several Bacillus
species such as B. mojavensis, B. pumilus, and B. subtilis
(⬎97.5%). Similarly, B. licheniformis wild-type strain KL-196
and B. mojavensis, as well as two B. subtilis strains tested in this
study, showed ⬎98% 16S rDNA sequence similarities. Such
high 16S rDNA sequence similarities were also noticed
(⬎99%) in the case of the two B. subtilis strains sequenced and
B. mojavensis. This finding clearly shows that 16S rDNA sequence analysis was not useful in differentiating these closely
related species of the genus Bacillus. The species identities of
all these strains were confirmed by DNA-DNA hybridization
(data not shown). The two strains of B. licheniformis and B.
subtilis showed ⬎70% DNA-DNA hybridization dissociation
values and exhibited ⬎98.5% 16S rDNA sequence similarities.
When all these species were grouped together, the maximumlikelihood-based phylogenetic tree showed two major clusters
(data not shown). One cluster consists of B. megaterium, B.
odysseyi, B. psychrodurans, and B. thuringiensis, where the
spores of these species contained an additional structure called
exosporium around the spore outer coat. The second cluster
formed by the other species tested does not contain an exosporium.
MALDI-TOFMS profiles. A representative spectrum from
each Bacillus species analyzed in this study is shown in Fig. 1.
The mass spectrum depicted is from m/z 3,000 to 25,000. The
higher m/z region from 9,500 to 25,000 is amplified (see inset
of each spectrum) in order to visualize the less abundant peaks
present at higher m/z regions. The observation of proteins at a
higher m/z region is seldom reported in other MALDITOFMS analyses of whole spores (8, 14, 15, 34, 39) We hypothesize that the appearance of large proteins with high m/z
values is due to optimization of the solvent system (Dickinson
et. al., Proc. 52nd Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom., and
Dickinson et al., Proc. 51st Annu. Meet. Am. Soc. Mass Spectrom.) used in this study. The solvent system was optimized
with respect to signal-to-noise ratios, reproducibility, and the
number of proteins extracted. It was found that preparations
containing formic acid were more effective at extracting proteins from spores compared to standard MALDI preparations
containing trifluoroacetic acid. As the formic acid concentration increases, so do the number and molecular weight range
of proteins extracted from the spores. The solvent system chosen in this study represents the optimum balance between
maximizing the protein extraction and maintaining the homogeneity and reproducibility of the MALDI crystal formation.
Significantly, this method provides more confident identification of the various strains of bacteria at the species level.
From the spectra, we were unable to identify an obvious
Bacillus-ubiquitous biomarker with the sample preparation
protocol adapted in this study. A peak at m/z 14,500 was
present in all of the spore spectra obtained except for that of
the B. licheniformis ATCC 14580 type strain and its wild-type
strain KL-196. The absence of a genus-specific biomarker may
be due to the extraction protocol used in this study, posttranslational modifications of proteins that may differ between the
PROTEIN PROFILING OF BACILLUS SPORES
479
strains, or the need for more sophisticated spectral comparisons of the different species. All of the spores have a group of
peaks in the m/z region between 6,500 and 8,000. B. licheniformis ATCC 14580, B. licheniformis KL-196, B. psychrodurans, B.
odysseyi, and B. megaterium all have an additional group of
peaks between m/z 5,000 to 6,500 that is not observable in the
other spectra. It was challenging to obtain good spectra from
the B. odysseyi samples as shown by the lower signal-to-noise
ratio in the spectra. This could be a result of glycoproteins
present in the exosporium layers. Glycoproteins can be difficult
to analyze due to the poor ionization of the sugar moieties in
the MALDI process and the inherent heterogeneity of glycosolations. An expected result was the level of similarity observed between the strains of the same species. B. licheniformis
ATCC 14580 type strain (Fig. 1C) and its wild-type strain
KL-196 (Fig. 1B) and B. subtilis 168 (Fig. 1I) and ATCC 6051
(Fig. 1J) have very comparable MALDI-TOFMS profiles upon
visual inspection. The spectra for the B. licheniformis pair are
very similar except for a difference in the intensity of the m/z
7,260 peak and the presence of different higher-molecularmass species in B. licheniformis 14580. The B. subtilis strains
exhibit the same pattern in that there is a difference in peak
intensity for the peak at m/z 6,936 and variation in the masses
observed above m/z 10,000. This observation supports the theory that it is important to examine a wide variety of Bacillus
spores before assigning definitive genus-, species-, and strainspecific protein biomarkers.
Linear correlation analysis provided a means of statistical
comparison of the spectra. Correlation values close to 1 indicate that the fingerprint patterns of two organisms are very
similar. Table 3 shows the linear correlation values for the
MALDI-TOFMS spectra of the various Bacillus species evaluated compared to the library spectra. Each of the 20 individual spectra from each species was searched against the usergenerated average library spectra. All individual spectra were
successfully identified as their corresponding species and
strain. These results were verified by applying Student’s t test
to the data. Using the t test, we confirmed that we were able to
differentiate all the species studied at the 95% confidence
level. Figure 2 shows the correlation results of the 20 individual
B. atrophaeus spectra when they were searched against the
library spectra. The y axis represents the linear correlation
values obtained and the x axis represents the first to fifth ranks
(hits) from the library. At each rank, the standard deviation of
the measurement across the 20 spectra is represented by the
error bars. The graph demonstrates that for rank 1 (B. atrophaeus), we have very high correlation values (0.96 ⫾ 0.02) and
that for the next best hit, B. thuringiensis, the correlation values
are much lower (0.51 ⫾ 0.02). Since none of the correlation
values approaches the B. atrophaeus hit, we can confirm the
differentiation of B. atrophaeus from all of the other strains in
the library. The linear correlation method applied here also
allows for the differentiation of the species whose MALDITOFMS profiles are almost indistinguishable upon visual observation, including the type strain and wild-type strains of B.
subtilis and B. licheniformis. Figure 3 shows the correlation
results of B. subtilis 168 versus the library spectra as described
above. The second rank (or hit) is much closer than in the case
of B. atrophaeus; the values are 0.98 ⫾ 0.02 for the first rank
and 0.86 ⫾ 0.02 for the second rank. The second rank repre-
480
DICKINSON ET AL.
APPL. ENVIRON. MICROBIOL.
B. megaterium ATCC 14581
B. mojavensis ATCC 51516
B. odysseyi PTA-4399
B. psychrodurans VSE1-06
B. pumilus ATCC 7061
B. subtilis 168
B. subtilis ATCC 6051
B. thuringiensis ATCC 10792
atrophaeus ATCC 9372
licheniformis ATCC 14580
licheniformis KL-196
megaterium ATCC 14581
mojavensis ATCC 51516
odysseyi PTA-4399
psychrodurans VSE1-06
pumilus ATCC 7061
subtilis 168
subtilis ATCC 6051
thuringiensis ATCC 10792
B. licheniformis KL-196
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B.
B. licheniformis ATCC 14580
Organism and strain
B. atrophaeus ATCC 9372
TABLE 3. Correlation values for MALDI-TOFMS spectra of various Bacillus species
1
0.09
0.03
0.14
0.20
0.35
0.04
0.14
0.09
0.23
0.52
1
0.90
0.30
0.23
0.15
0.45
0.27
0.04
0.05
0.06
1
0.09
0.07
0.05
0.42
0.04
0.01
0.01
0.03
1
0.37
0.26
0.35
0.45
0.11
0.11
0.07
1
0.21
0.05
0.44
0.07
0.07
0.05
1
0.16
0.34
0.05
0.29
0.33
1
0.07
⫺0.01
0.01
0.08
1
0.02
0.05
0.09
1
0.88
0.02
1
0.13
1
sents B. subtilis ATCC 6051, the other B. subtilis strain in this
study. With statistical treatment of the data, we are still able to
differentiate the two strains at the 97% confidence interval.
The very close correlation values of 0.88 ⫾ 0.02 for the B.
licheniformis pair and 0.86 ⫾ 0.02 for the B. subtilis pair illustrate that close correlation values do indicate a relationship
between the organisms. However, with statistical treatment of
the data, we are able to obtain differentiation at the strain level
in these two examples.
To ascertain the robustness of the technique, separate spectra collected and averaged from the same spore culture were
examined. All 11 species were correctly identified by comparison to the library spectra (r ⫽ 0.85 to 0.98). This result was
consistent whether the individual spectra or averages of indi-
FIG. 2. Correlation results of the 20 individual B. atrophaeus
ATCC 9372 spectra searched against the library. The y axis represents
the linear correlation values obtained and the x axis represents the first
to fifth ranks (hits) from the library. At each rank, the standard deviation of the measurement across the 20 spectra is represented by the
error bars.
vidual spectra were used to search the library. In addition to
the new preparations from the same culture, four batches of
spores of B. subtilis 168, prepared at different times over the
course of 2 years, were also compared against the library spectra. All of the B. subtilis 168 spores were correctly identified as
the B. subtilis 168 from the library, regardless of the batch or
storage time (r ⫽ 0.92 to 0.98).
Aligning the correlation results from the MALDI-TOFMS
profiles (Table 3) with the 16S rDNA sequence analysis (Table
2) shows that the MALDI-TOFMS profiles are complementary
to 16S rDNA analysis. Using MALDI-TOFMS profiles of
these organisms, we are able to confidently differentiate all of
the species studied, whereas there are several species including
B. subtilis 168, B. licheniformis, B. mojavensis, and B. atrophaeus that 16S rDNA analysis is unable to differentiate at the
FIG. 3. Correlation results of the 20 individual B. subtilis 168 spectra searched against the library. The y axis represents the linear correlation values obtained and the x axis represents the first to fifth ranks
(hits) from the library. At each rank, the standard deviation of the
measurement across the 20 spectra is represented by the error bars.
VOL. 70, 2004
PROTEIN PROFILING OF BACILLUS SPORES
481
TABLE 4. Proteins from B. subtilis 168 MALDI extract identified with proteomic analysis
Descriptiona
Mascot or
Xcorr
score
%
Coverage
Accession
no.
Mol
mass
(Da)
Spore coat protein precursor
Spore protein; major beta-type SASP
DNA binding protein
Spore coat protein
Spore protein; major alpha-type SASP
Conserved hypothetical protein
Spore coat peptide assembly protein
Spore protein; minor alpha/beta-type SASP
Spore protein; SASP
Coat morphogenesis sporulation protein
450
203
178
176
150
114
76
67
65
50
59.7
61.2
41.3
37.5
62.3
56.5
26.0
43.7
27.8
4.3
1075916
16078040
16079336
116958
16080009
16078751
16077757
16078411
134238
16079337
10,125
6,975
9,878
18,714
7,066
9,642
11,745
6,800
7,753
55,140
Protein
CotT
SspB
HU
CotF
SspA
YmfJ
CotJB
SspD
SspC
SpoIVA
a
SASP, small, acid-soluble protein.
species level. MALDI-TOFMS analysis of these species would
allow for differentiation at the species level. Comparing the
MALDI protein profiles with the phenotypic groupings was
challenging due to the large diversity in the number and range
of the peaks across the spectra for all of the species studied. In
general, spores with an exosporium resulted in spectra that had
more peaks over a broader range than the organisms without
an exosporium. On average, the phenotypic group IV organisms had more peaks than the group II organisms, with the
exception of B. megaterium. Other statistical methods, such as
cluster analysis, could be applied to the data to allow us to
visualize on the basis of protein profiles the relationships between the different species.
Proteomic analysis for biomarker identification. Since the
genome of B. subtilis 168 is completely sequenced, this organism was selected for further proteomic studies towards identifying which proteins are represented by the biomarker peaks
observed by MALDI-TOFMS. We were able to identify by
CLC-MS2 10 proteins in the extract of the spore sample of B.
subtilis 168. The protein description, sequence coverage, molecular masses, and database searching scores (i.e., Sequest
Xcorr or Mascot score) are shown in Table 4. Four small,
acid-soluble proteins (A, B, C, and D), one DNA binding
protein, hypothetical protein YmfJ, and four proteins associated with the spore coat and spore coat formation (CotJB,
CotF, CotT, and SpoIVA) were identified.
Relating these proteins to the peaks observed in the
MALDI-TOFMS profile for B. subtilis 168 was challenging.
Proteins in the lower-molecular-mass region (below m/z
10,000) represent the small, acid-soluble proteins, the DNA
binding protein, and smaller spore coat polypeptides processed
from larger precursors. The higher m/z peaks may represent
other processed and intact spore coat proteins such as CotJB at
m/z 11,638 Da. The large peak at m/z 7,758 is the processed
form of CotT, which starts as a 10-kDa protein in which the
first 19 residues (termed the propeptide) are removed to leave
behind an ⬃7,800-Da spore coat protein (2). The molecular
masses listed in the protein database of four of the proteins
identified (SpoIVA, YmfJ, CotF, and SspB) did not directly
match with the m/z values of singly charged ions observed in
the MALDI spectra. Separation of the proteins prior to proteomic analysis is required in order to reduce the complexity of
the biomarker protein extract and confidently assign protein
identifications made by CLC-MS2 to peaks in the MALDI
spectra. This is the first time to our knowledge that proteins
associated with the spore coat have been identified from direct
spore analysis by using a MALDI extract, as previous studies
have only identified small, acid-soluble proteins found in the
spore cortex as the source of the biomarker peaks. While small,
acid-soluble proteins do allow for some species differentiation,
they do not account for all the peaks observed, nor do they
allow for differentiation at the species level as in the case of B.
thuringiensis and B. cereus (5, 6, 15). Therefore, the ability to
visualize and identify coat proteins as well as small, acid-soluble proteins in the spore is critical for complete and effective
species differentiation of the Bacillus genus.
Protein profiling based on MALDI-TOFMS is a useful,
rapid, and sensitive technology to differentiate spores from
closely related microbial species. Although a standardized
sample preparation protocol is required, it is obvious from the
result that this technology is promising for species differentiation of a wide variety of bacterial spores. Additional optimization of the solvent system used for the MALDI-TOFMS
analysis may extend the molecular mass range further and
provide more biomarkers for subsequent proteomic analysis.
Complete characterization of the protein biomarkers observed
in this study is necessary to bring this technique into full fruition as a viable microbial analysis tool.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Part of the research described in this publication was carried out at the
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a
contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
D. Dickinson thanks the NASA Graduate Student Research Program for support. We thank A. Driks, W. Nicholson, and M. Rasche
for technical discussion and K. Buxbaum and D. Jan for encouragement.
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