Bacteriology Laboratory

Sequence-based DNA analysis

This laboratory is involved in researching DNA sequence-based methods for speciation and typing of bacterial pathogens including the development of comprehensive databases to enhance the diagnostic and typing processes.

The main focus at this time is 16S rDNA sequence analysis that is used to identify atypical or rare bacteria that are unable to be identified by phenotypic tests alone. The lab is also interested in identification of other highly conserved genes whose DNA sequence may be more useful with certain families of bacteria such as the Enterobacteriaceae family.