Characterization of environmental isolates of Enterococcus spp. by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Currently available bacterial source-tracking tools are often technically demanding, time consuming, and have limited accuracy in grouping isolates according to their respective sources. There is a need for the development of bacterial source-tracking tools that would allow for more rapid and accurate grouping of isolates by source. We examined the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) for the characterization of environmental isolates of Enterococcus.