Microbiological diagnostics: From traditional to molecular genetic methods: A literature review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61751/bmbr/4.2023.34Keywords:
microbiology, diagnostics], nutrient medium, identification, sequencing, omics technologiesAbstract
The development of new and optimisation of known cultural and molecular genetic methods for accurate
species identification of microorganisms is an urgent and practically necessary task that is receiving great attention
from researchers. The purpose of this study was to analyse and systematise theoretical scientific data on methods of
microbial identification and assess their main advantages and disadvantages. For this purpose, a systematic review of
53 randomised research papers published between 2018 and 2023 was conducted. The search for publications using the
keywords “microbiome”, “microbiological diagnostics”, “identification of microorganisms”, “sequencing”, and “omics
technologies” in the title or text of the research paper was carried out in Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, and Google
Scholar. The study provides generalised information on traditional and modern methods of microbial identification. It
is established that the advantages of traditional diagnostic methods include the possibility of preserving the obtained
microorganisms for further research, in particular, for determining their antibiotic sensitivity. Modern molecular genetic methods open up new possibilities for the accurate identification of microorganisms, including those that are
difficult to incubate using traditional cultural methods. The use of these methods allows obtaining detailed data on the
genetic structure and diversity of microorganisms, which is important in many fields, including microbiology, medicine,
and ecology. However, molecular methods are more sensitive to contamination or errors in the sample collection
and processing. Moreover, omics technologies (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) open up
new opportunities for studying cells at more complex levels of life organisation. In everyday clinical practice, the
microbiological method of isolating microbial cultures remains the main one, as it is the only one that allows determining
not only the cause of the infection but also the antibiotic sensitivity. However, cultural methods for studying fastidious
microorganisms are quite limited. Thus, the results obtained contribute to the development of fast and accurate
methods for identifying, classifying, and systematising microorganisms, which facilitates the processes of diagnosis and
development of strategies for the control and treatment of infectious diseases in laboratories and clinical institutions
Received: 02.08.2023 | Revised: 16.10.2023 | Accepted: 28.11.2023
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