What is MicrobeMS?
 
The software package available from MicrobeMS is a program designed specifically for the analysis of MALDI-TOF mass spectra from microbial samples. The MicrobeMS software was developed by Peter Lasch at the Robert-Koch-Institut (RKI) in Berlin/Germany and can be used to identify microbial strains and species based on their mass spectral patterns. The program is a Matlab -based comprehensive package that operates under Windows 10, 11 and LINUX (Debian, MicrobeMS versions later than 0.81). Original MALDI-TOF mass spectra in the format defined by Bruker Daltonics or by Shimadzu (via the mzXML data format) can be imported, processed and converted to a Matlab data matrix format specific to the MicrobeMS program.
 
The software permits standard mass spectral manipulations such as smoothing, baseline correction, normalization, peak detection, auto-calibration and some other functions. Due to the fact that the software runs also in a complete Windows or LINUX 64-bit environment the number of spectra in the data sets is limited only by the amount of available memory (RAM).
 
See also the MicrobeMS Wiki for more information.
 
What is new in MicrobeMS 0.92?

• XML export filter for exporting MALDI-ToF MS spectrum data in to a format suitable for utilization of the MicrobeNet solution of the CDC's.
   
  
• New functionalities of the software function Microbial identification based on mass spectral libraries and interspectral distances: introducing a MBT like identification method
   
  
• Quality tests function significantly revised
   
  
• Many code improvements & bug fixes
   
  

Functions introduced with MicrobeMS 0.89

• Quality tests of microbial MALDI-ToF mass spectra.
   
  
• New functionalities of the software function Microbial identification based on mass spectral libraries and interspectral distances
   
  
• Peak detection function significantly revised
   
  
• Modifications of the preprocessing functions (baseline correction by asymmetric least square correction, AsLS, normalization, etc.)
   
  
• Many code improvements & bug fixes
   
  

Functions introduced with MicrobeMS 0.84?

• Identification analysis by means of LC-MS¹ and in silico databases.
   
  
• New functionality of the software function Microbial identification based on mass spectral libraries and interspectral distances
   
  
• New option store mass spectra in a Bruker specific data format.
   
  
• Import routine for mass spectra in the mzXML format , allows importing raw mass spectra from Shimadzu systems.
   
  
• Updated peak detection routine.
   
  
• New function to create data base spectra which can be automatically created from experimental mass spectra (ideally from biological and technical replicate spectra)
   
  
• A new option for averaging mass spectra
   
  
• New spectral pre-processing functions: cut, reduce resolution and undo (clear) pre-processing
   
  
• Many code improvements & bug fixes
  

Links:
 

• MicrobeMS web site
   
  
• MicrobeMS Wiki
   
  
• Software overview
   
  
• Installation
   
  
• Download MicrobeMS
   
  
• License, Disclaimer
   
  
• FAQ