Identification of Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium by Use of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry

We evaluated the Bruker Biotyper matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry for identification of 92 clinical isolates of Corynebacterium species in comparison to identification using rpoB or 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Eighty isolates (87%) yielded a score of >= 1.700, and all of these were correctly identified to the species level with the exception of Corynebacterium aurimucosum being misidentified as the closely related Corynebacterium minutissimum.