Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and Bayesian phylogenetic analysis to characterize Candida clinical isolates

Clinical Candida isolates from two different hospitals in Rome were identified and clustered by MALDI-TOF MS system and their origin and evolution estimated by Bayesian phylogenetic analysis. The different species of Candida were correctly identified and clustered separately, confirming the ability of these techniques to discriminate between different Candida species. Focusing MALDI-TOF analysis on a single Candida species, Candida albicans and Candida parapsilosis strains clustered differently for hospital setting as well as for period of isolation than Candida glabrata and Candida tropicalis isolates. The evolutionary rates of C. albicans and C. parapsilosis (1.93×10(-2) and 1.17×10(-2)substitutions/site/year, respectively) were in agreement with a higher rate of mutation of these species, even in a narrow period, than what was observed in C. glabrata and C. tropicalis strains (6.99×10(-4) and 7.52×10(-3)substitutions/site/year, respectively). C. albicans resulted as the species with the highest between and within clades genetic distance values in agreement with the temporal-related clustering found by MALDI-TOF and the high evolutionary rate 1.93×10(-2)substitutions/site/year.