Identification of carbohydrate and nucleic acid biomarkers in the pyrolysis electron ionization-high-resolution mass spectrum of Brucella neotomae

A detailed pyrolysis electron ionization-high-resolution mass spectrometry (Py-HR-MS) study has been performed on the whole bacterial cells of Brucella neotomae. The purpose of the study was to determine possible pyrolysis mechanisms for the formation of observed biomarker ions when pyrolyzing whole cell microorganisms. Standards representing the sugar and nucleic acid composition of bacteria were also analyzed under identical conditions. High-resolution mass spectral peaks that were present in the whole bacterial cell spectra and in the standards were assigned as having originated from carbohydrate and/or nucleic acid-based molecules. The data collected facilitates the goal of developing rapid chemotaxonomic assays for microorganism identification. The carbohydrate and nucleic acid pathways for several important biomarkers are presented.