Microbial Identification
The NCIMB microbial Identification Service provides fast, confidential and credible identification of bacteria and certain common fungi to Good Manufacturing Practice standards. We isolate and identify bacteria from diverse sources, having particular expertise in the environmental and pharmaceutical sectors. Our culture collection provides us with immediate access to a unique source of authentic reference material. We also have access to a number of private collections, ensuring a wide reference base to work with.
Rapid identification of bacteria and some common fungi can be carried out by sequencing the 16S (or 28S) ribosomal DNA gene. This technique is ideal for
- Viable and non-viable material
- Organisms with complex growth requirements
- Gram variable isolates
- DNA extraction from microbial cultures
- Amplification of the 16S (or 28S) gene by PCR (500bp or full gene options are available)
- Cycle sequence analysis on the ABI sequencer. Systematic double analysis
- Comparison of the unknown sequence with the MicroSeq database
- Public databases (EMBL and RDP) can also be searched
- Customer report detailing top sequence matches and phylogenetic trees
This identification service uses the MIDI Sherlock Microbial Identification System which identifies microorganisms based on the unique fatty acid pattern of each strain. The fatty acid profile is compared against extensive databases which currently contains over 2000 species, including aerobic bacteria, anaerobic bacteria and yeasts. This robust methodology is an excellent technique for comparison and identification of a wide range of isolates, both Gram positive and Gram negative.
Biochemical tests can target a specific reaction eg. nitrate reduction, protein degradation, growth at high temperatures or give a comprehensive description of the organism`s properties which can be important in differentiation at the strain level.
- Growth under standard conditions
- Large database of environmental organisms
- Superior identification compared to biochemical test systems
- Strain tracking capabilities