Microbial characterization is the process by which isolates are compared to determine the relatedness of the isolates at the strain level.  There are many situations when strain typing can by useful or even necessary. 

• Track contamination events
• QA/ QC  OOS investigations
• Ensure stability of QC organisms
• Microbial mapping
• Root cause analysis
• Research and Development

Several methods are used for strain typing in industrial and/or research settings.  Highlighted below are the methods Accugenix has made available for our customers.

Automated Ribotyping

The automated ribotyping process generates a DNA fingerprint of the Ribosomal RNA genes ((5S, 16S, 23S, and the spacer region including Glu-tRNA) for a bacterial culture.  Automated ribotyping requires a viable organisms for testing.  The process begins by cutting the bacterial genome with a restriction enzyme and separating the resulting fragments by gel electrophoresis. Then a DNA probe, chemiluminescent agent, and camera are used to visualize the DNA fragments of interest. The resulting banding pattern is then compared against the banding patterns of other isolates to determine their similarity.