Application of Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) for Identification of an Epiphytic Cyanobacterium, Nostoc Sp.

Abstract

Cyanobacteria, a diverse group of bacteria are identified entirely on the basis of morphological characters, which can frequently lead to incorrect results; therefore, the present study reports a new approach for identification of an organism based on DART technique. Direct Analysis in Real Time Mass Spectrometry (DART-MS) was used to identify a cyanobacterium, isolated from the leaf surface, on the basis of characteristic chemical compounds present in the strain. A chemical fingerprint was generated and peaks obtained were found to be similar to the masses of the compounds reported for Nostoc sp