Bacterial Identification &
Fatty Acid Analysis Laboratory

The Sherlock System

The Sherlock SystemDeveloped by MIDI Inc uses gas chromatography to identify over 140 separate fatty acids. The fatty acid profile is matched to a library of 700+ bacterial species representing over 180 genera. In addition to bacteria, we have the capacity to identify yeasts, some VA mycorrhizae and some fungi. We can also generate fatty acid profiles for other plant, animal and microbial samples. Information on the extraction protocol and fatty acid analysis is described in MIDI Technical note #101, posted on the MIDI web site. Groups of organisms, or samples of any material containing fatty acids can be compared using dendrograms and/or 2-D plots.

The Biolog system

The Biolog SystemIdentifies and/or characterizes bacterial and yeast strains bycarbon source utilization. This system tests the ability of a microorganism to utilize 95 different carbon sources. This results in a characteristic pattern that constitutes a "metabolic fingerprint" of the strain. This pattern is then compared to a database of known organisms, and a "best match" for the unknown is given. The database is comprised of 800+ entries. The system can generate dendrograms from the data for strain comparison.

The Riboprinter

The RiboprinterFrom Dupont Qualicon, uses genetic fingerprinting for straincomparison and identification. Strains can be identified and/or characterized by analyzing the ribosomal DNA banding pattern. Digestions are typically done with EcoRI, PSTI or PVUII. However almost any restriction enzyme can be used. The system is fully automated and results for up to eight samples are completed in less than eight hours.

For additional information contact:

Ellen R. Dickstein
Plant Pathology Department
P.O. Box 110680
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611 USA
Office hours are 7 am. to 4 pm EST.
Phone: (352) 846-1984
FAX: (352) 392-6532
E-Mail: erd@ufl.edu

Mailing address for UPS, Federal Ex, and couriers other than U.S. mail:

Ellen R. Dickstein
Plant Pathology Department
1453 Fifield Hall
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611 US