With the increasing number of fungal infections and immunocompromised patients, rapid and accurate fungal identification is required in clinical microbiology laboratories. We evaluated the applicability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) system, MicroIDSys Elite (ASTA Corp., South Korea) for the identification of medically important filamentous fungi. A total of 505 strains comprising 37 genera and 90 species collected from 11 Korean hospitals were sent to the microbiology laboratory of International St. Mary’s Hospital. All isolates were tested using MicroIDSys Elite, and data were analyzed using the MoldDB v.1.22 database (ASTA). Correct identification rates were compared with the multigene sequencing results. MicroIDSys Elite correctly identified 86.5% (437/505) and 88.9% (449/505) of all tested isolates at the species and genus level, respectively. About 98.2% of Aspergillus isolates were identified at the species level, including cryptic and rare species of A. calidoustus, A. tamarii, A. lentulus, A. versicolor and A. aculeatus. MicroIDSys Elite identified 75.0% of basidiomycetes, including Schizophyllum commune, and 84.3% of the dermatophytes. It also distinguished Sprothrix globosa at the species level. The mean scores of total isolates corresponding to correct species identification were significantly higher than those obtained for genus-level identification (253.5 ± 50.7 vs. 168.6 ± 30.3, P < 0.001). MicroIDSys Elite showed high accuracy for the identification of filamentous fungi, including cryptic and rare Aspergillus species. It is suitable for use in clinical laboratories as a rapid and efficient tool for clinical mold identification. Further evaluations are recommended for MicroIDSys Elite as a rapid and efficient tool for the identification of medically important filamentous fungi.

随着真菌感染和免疫功能低下患者数量的增加，临床微生物实验室需要快速准确的真菌鉴定。我们评估了基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI-TOF MS) 系统 MicroIDSys Elite (ASTA Corp., South Korea) 在鉴定医学上重要的丝状真菌方面的适用性。从韩国11家医院采集的37属90种共505株被送往国际圣玛丽医院微生物实验室。所有分离株均使用 MicroIDSys Elite 进行测试，并使用 MoldDB v.1.22 数据库 (ASTA) 分析数据。将正确识别率与多基因测序结果进行比较。MicroIDSys Elite 正确识别了 86.5% (437/505) 和 88。9% (449/505) 分别为种和属水平的所有测试分离株。约 98.2%在物种水平上鉴定了曲霉分离株，包括A. calidoustus、A. tamarii、A.lentulus、A. versicolor和A. aculeatus 的隐秘和稀有物种。MicroIDSys Elite 鉴定了 75.0% 的担子菌（包括Schizophyllum community）和 84.3% 的皮肤癣菌。它还在物种水平上区分了Sprotrix globosa。与正确物种鉴定相对应的总分离株的平均得分显着高于属级鉴定获得的得分（253.5 ± 50.7 vs. 168.6 ± 30.3，P  < 0.001）。MicroIDSys Elite 在鉴定丝状真菌方面表现出很高的准确性，包括隐匿性和稀有性曲霉属。它适用于临床实验室，作为一种快速有效的临床霉菌识别工具。建议对 MicroIDSys Elite 作为一种快速有效的工具进行进一步评估，以识别具有重要医学意义的丝状真菌。