The use of recent and advanced techniques of molecular biology for identifying bacteria are changing the way we practice clinical microbiology which affects the practice of medicine. Clinical microbiology laboratories have relied on phenotypic methods such as culture and biochemical tests for the detection, identification and characterization of virulence traits such as antibiotic resistance genes, toxins, etc of human pathogens. The advantages and disadvantages of molecular biology techniques including real-time Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), partial or whole genome sequencing, molecular typing, microarrays, broad-range PCR, direct hybridization, reverse hybridization and multiplexing over the traditional methods recommended by the British Pharmacopoeia will be addressed and discussed.
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