Abstract

A rapid and reliable approach to the identification of microorganisms is a critical requirement for large-scale cultu- romics analysis. MALDI-TOF MS is a suitable technique that can be a better alternative to conventional biochemical and gene sequencing methods as it is economical both in terms of cost and labor. In this review, the applications of MALDI-TOF MS for the comprehensive identification of microorganisms and bacterial strain typing for culturomics-based approaches for various environmental studies including bioremediation, plant sciences, agriculture and food microbiology have been widely explored. However, the restriction of this technique is attributed to insufficient coverage of the mass spectral database. To improve the applications of this technique for the identification of novel isolates, the spectral database should be updated with the peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) of type strains with not only microbes with clinical relevance but also from various environmental sources. Further, the development of enhanced sample processing methods and new algorithms for automation and de-replica- tion of isolates will increase its application in microbial ecology studies.