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Comparative Study
. 2022 Oct;414(24):7179-7189.
doi: 10.1007/s00216-022-04270-6. Epub 2022 Aug 13.

Comparison of fast Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy biotyping with whole genome sequencing-based genotyping in common nosocomial pathogens

Ayza S J Teng  1 , Patrick E Habermehl  1 , Robin van Houdt  2 , Menno D de Jong  1 , Rosa van Mansfeld  2 , Sébastien P F Matamoros  1 , Ingrid J B Spijkerman  1 , Maurits P A van Meer  3 , Caroline E Visser  4
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparison of fast Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy biotyping with whole genome sequencing-based genotyping in common nosocomial pathogens

Ayza S J Teng et al. Anal Bioanal Chem. 2022 Oct.

Abstract

Early detection of bacterial transmission and outbreaks in hospitals is important because nosocomial infections can result in health complications and longer hospitalization. Current practice to detect outbreaks uses genotyping methods amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), which are not suitable methods for real-time transmission screening of both susceptible and resistant bacteria. The aim was to assess the typing technique Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as real-time screening method to discriminate large amounts of susceptible and resistant bacteria at strain level when there is no evident outbreak in comparison with the WGS reference. Isolates of past hospital outbreak strains of Acinetobacter baumannii/calcoaceticus complex (n = 25), Escherichia coli (n = 31), Enterococcus faecium (n = 22), Staphylococcus aureus (n = 37) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n = 30) were used for validation of FTIR. Subsequently, Enterococcus faecalis (n = 106) and Enterococcus faecium (n = 104) isolates from weekly routine screening samples when no potential outbreak was present were analysed. FTIR showed reproducibility and congruence of cluster composition with WGS for A. baumannii/calcoaceticus complex and E. faecium outbreak isolates. The FTIR results of E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates from routine samples showed reproducibility, but the congruence of cluster composition with WGS was low. For A. baumannii/calcoaceticus complex and E. faecium outbreak isolates, FTIR appears to be a discriminatory typing tool. However, our study shows the discriminatory power is too low to screen real-time for transmission of E. faecium and E. faecalis at patient wards based on isolates acquired in routine surveillance cultures when there is no clear suspicion of an ongoing outbreak.

Keywords: Bacteria; Bacterial typing; Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy; Whole genome sequencing.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Clustering of FTIRS of 106 unrelated E. faecalis. The FTIRS clusters are displayed as shaded boxes. The corresponding WGS cluster of the isolate selected for analysis is displayed in the final column. Incongruently clustered isolates are marked with arrows
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Clustering of FTIRS of 104 E. faecium collected without the presence of an evident outbreak and 15 vancomycin-resistant E. faecium (VRE) isolates of an outbreak. The VRE is indicated by a red circle. The FTIRS clusters are displayed as shaded boxes. The corresponding WGS cluster of the isolate selected for analysis is displayed in the final column
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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