| Bacteriology is the Microbiology's branch dedicated to the study of bacteria. It includes mainly the characterization, taxonomy, identification, and discrimination of bacterial species and strains. These studies still encounter many challenges, especially when dealing with genetically closely related species. The B. cereus group is one of the most studied groups of bacteria and yet they remain one of the most controversial groups when it comes to their phylogenetic characterization and discrimination. Indeed, there is still a lack of definitive and reliable methods to differentiate these organisms. The merging of proteomics, genomics, mass spectrometry and bioinformatics has caused a revolution in microbiology. This blossoming era of molecular biology combined with analytical microbiology has stimulated the search and discovery of new markers (proteins or DNA) followed by improved techniques for their detection, and discrimination. Therefore, more fast and accurate microbial identification and characterization in clinical and environmental samples are a promising reality. The main focus of the present study consisted on exploring the new concepts and advances of the state-of-the-art analytical mass spectrometry/molecular technologies for more detailed and precise characterization of the B. cereus group. The data presented in this study clearly demonstrate that protein analysis by different MS and MS-MS techniques provide a rapid, reliable and highly specific means for bacterial characterization, allowing for identification, discrimination, and phylogenetic determination. The potential of proteomic studies for protein identification and characterization demonstrated here using the 2D gel electrophoresis can be used for the discovery of new markers for bacterial discrimination. Finally; in moving from established proteomics studies based on cultured bacteria to metaproteomics studies focused on complex clinical and environmental microbial communities (without culture) it is anticipated here that major improvements will be necessary for the interpretation of complex mass spectral data in order to achieve definitive identification and characterization of organisms. |
