MALDI-TOF MS protein profiling for the rapid identification of Chagas disease triatomine vectors and application to the triatomine fauna of French Guiana
Authors: Philippe Parola
Maureen Laroche
Didier Raoult
Gladys Gazelle
Denis Blanchet
Jean-Michel B√©renger
Journal: Parasitology (2018)
Discipline: MICROBIOLOGY
Keywords: French Guiana; MALDI-TOF; Triatominae; arthropod identification.
Affiliations: Unit√© de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), IHU M√©diterran√©e Infection, Aix-Marseille University, UM63, CNRS 7278,IRD 198 (Dakar, S√©n√©gal), Inserm 1095, 19-21 bd Jean Moulin, 13385 Marseille cedex 5,France., Laboratoire Hospitalier Universitaire de Parasitologie et Mycologie, Centre Hospitalier A. Rosemon,Cayenne,France.

Abstract:  Triatomines are haematophagous insects involved in the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi, the aetiological agent of Chagas disease. The vector competence of these arthropods can be highly variable, depending on the species. A precise identification is therefore crucial for the epidemiological surveillance of T. cruzi and the determination of at-risk human populations. To circumvent the difficulties of morphological identification and the lack of comprehensiveness of the GenBank database, we hereby propose an alternative method for triatomine identification. The femurs of the median legs of triatomines from eight different species from French Guiana were subjected to matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) analysis. Method evaluation was performed on fresh specimens and was applied to dry specimens collected between 1991 and 2003. Femur-derived protein extracts provided reproducible spectra within the same species along with significant interspecies heterogeneity. Validation of the study by blind test analysis provided 100% correct identification of the specimens in terms of the species, sex and developmental stage. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry appears to be a powerful tool for triatomine identification, which is a major step forward in the fight against Chagas disease. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 I found few concerns in Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4. Fig. 2: the panel 3 and 4 seems to have a different Intensity unity but authors showed the same intensity scale (x10*4) for all MS. Fig. 3: has the same scale problem for panel 4 4 7 and 8 Fig. 4: we can clearly see that something wrong was made on the Intensity scale as in panel 2 we can observe a 0 close to the scale value, in panel 6 we can observe the real value attributed by the software. Authors are then invited to correct these concerns by publishing the original MS graphs with the random Intensity Unit attributed by the software.   , 
 Hi, Collinsia verna is the name of a beautiful flower, so unsure about the origin of this comment, neither if it is related to a letter to the editor to this journal. Anyway, well seen, see below the answer from the first author, now post doc in Africa.  All panel intensity values indicated here range from 0 to the maximal value granted by the software. For clarity purposes (so there wouldn t be too many values on that axis) we deleted all 0s except the first one, but also all intermediate values. The 0 you see on the second spectrum of panel 2 is simply one we forgot to delete. All max values are kept unchanged and are the ones attributed by the software. So, no correction needed to my point of view as anyone familiar with Maldi tof and related scientific works and figures, would have understood. Thank you any way. ,