Aix Marseille Univ, IRD, SSA, AP-HM, VITROME, Marseille, France.
IHU-Méditerranée Infection, Marseille, France.
J Med Entomol. 2021 May 15;58(3):1126-1133. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjaa266.
Lice pose major public and veterinary health problems with economic consequences. Their identification is essential and requires the development of an innovative strategy. MALDI-TOF MS has recently been proposed as a quick, inexpensive, and accurate tool for the identification of arthropods. Alcohol is one of the most frequently used storage methods and makes it possible to store samples for long periods at room temperature. Several recent studies have reported that alcohol alters protein profiles resulting from MS analysis. After preliminary studies on frozen lice, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the influence of alcohol preservation on the accuracy of lice identification by MALDI-TOF MS. To this end, lice stored in alcohol for variable periods were submitted for MS analysis and sample preparation protocols were optimized. The reproducibility and specificity of the MS spectra obtained on both these arthropod families allowed us to implement the reference MS spectra database (DB) with protein profiles of seven lice species stored in alcohol. Blind tests revealed a correct identification of 93.9% of Pediculus humanus corporis (Linnaeus, 1758) and 98.4% of the other lice species collected in the field. This study demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS could be successfully used for the identification of lice stored in alcohol for different lengths of time.
虱子对公共卫生和兽医健康构成重大问题，并造成经济后果。鉴定它们至关重要，需要制定创新策略。MALDI-TOF MS 最近被提议作为一种快速、廉价且准确的方法来鉴定节肢动物。酒精是最常用的储存方法之一，可以使样本在室温下长时间储存。最近的几项研究报告称，酒精会改变 MS 分析得出的蛋白质图谱。在对冷冻虱子进行初步研究后，本研究旨在评估酒精保存对 MALDI-TOF MS 鉴定虱子准确性的影响。为此，将在酒精中储存不同时间的虱子进行 MS 分析，并优化了样品制备方案。这两个节肢动物家族的 MS 图谱具有良好的重现性和特异性，我们得以构建包含七种酒精储存虱子的蛋白质图谱的参考 MS 图谱数据库（DB）。盲测结果显示，对人体虱（Linnaeus，1758）的正确鉴定率为 93.9%，对野外采集的其他虱子物种的正确鉴定率为 98.4%。本研究表明，MALDI-TOF MS 可成功用于鉴定在酒精中储存不同时间的虱子。
