Open AccessEvaluation of 16S rRNA Sequencing and Reevaluation of a Short Biochemical Scheme for Identification of Clinically Significant Bacteroides Species
Author(s) -
Yuanyuan Song,
Chengxu Liu,
Mauricio Bolaños,
Julia Lee,
M. McTeague,
Sydney M. Finegold
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of clinical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.349
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1070-633X
pISSN - 0095-1137
DOI - 10.1128/jcm.43.4.1531-1537.2005
Subject(s) - bacteroides , bacteroidaceae , 16s ribosomal rna , identification (biology) , biology , ribosomal rna , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , classification scheme , genetics , bacteria , ecology , computer science , gene , information retrieval
Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene represents a highly accurate and versatile method for bacterial classification and identification, even when the species in question is notoriously difficult to identify by phenotypic means. In this study, we evaluated the utility of 16S rRNA gene sequencing as a means of identifying clinically important Bacteroides species. We sequenced 231 clinical isolates that had been identified by a short biochemical scheme. Based on the sequence analysis, 192 clinical isolates were assigned to an established species, with the other 39 clinical strains revealing five unique sequences that may represent five novel species. This is in contrast to identification obtained from a short biochemical scheme, by which only 73.5% (172 of 231) of isolates were correctly identified to species level. Based on the solid identification obtained from 16S rRNA gene sequencing, the short biochemical scheme was modified and improved to provide clinical laboratories with an inexpensive and simple alternative for the identification of isolates of clinically significant Bacteroides species.