The identification of microorganisms has traditionally relied on phenotypic methods. With advancements in genetic methods, various classification methodologies based on nucleotide sequences are increasingly popular due to their specificity and speed. Gene sequencing-based techniques can serve to detect, identify, and monitor microbes, even poorly known or uncultured microorganisms. Comparative gene sequence analysis of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) has been shown to have the highest accuracy of microbial identification system technologies and has been considered the gold standard for microbial identification for over a decade.

Poochon’s Rapid Microbial Identification System uses a highly accurate phylogenetic approach for microbial identification based on the sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene for bacteria or the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and 28S rRNA gene for fungi (Figure 1). The resulting sequences of microbial samples are compared to sequences in the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s database. Our genotypic microbial identification solution is based on sequence-based analyses of ribosomal genes in bacteria and fungi and complies with approaches recommended by regulatory agencies for accurate microorganism identification.