The value of this book is seen above all in a critical reviewing of the advantages and disadvantages of the techniques considered. The text is supplemented by numerous references to literature and illustrations. This book provides the reader with a detailed survey of the subject and a wealth of suggestions. - Zentralblatt fur Bakteriologie

• 1 An introduction to microbial identification and typing methods.- 1.1 A brief overview of microbial identification.- 1.2 Conventional biological methods for microbial typing.- 1.3 Molecular approaches to microbial identification and typing.- References.- 2 Analysis of nucleic acid profiles.- 2.1 Introduction.- 2.2 Plasmid analysis.- 2.3 Analysis of chromosomal DNA.- 2.4 Summary.- References.- 3 Identification and typing by nucleic acid hybridization techniques.- 3.1 Introduction.- 3.2 Basic principles of nucleic acid hybridization.- 3.3 Analysis of RFLPs by hybridization techniques.- 3.4 Summary.- References.- 4 Nucleic acid amplification and sequencing techniques.- 4.1 Introduction.- 4.2 The polymerase chain reaction (PCR).- 4.3 Other amplification methods.- 4.4 Nucleic acid sequencing techniques.- 4.5 Summary.- References.- 5 Analysis of protein and lipopolysaccharide profiles.- 5.1 Introduction to protein fingerprinting.- 5.2 Protein analysis.- 5.3 Lipopolysaccharide typing schemes.- 5.4 Summary.- References.- 6 Typing and identification of microorganisms with antibodies.- 6.1 Introduction.- 6.2 Production of antibodies for serotyping and identification.- 6.3 Techniques used in serotyping.- 6.4 Summary.- References.- 7 Final summary and future prospects.