RiboPrinter® System
The Ribotyping system groups together samples whose RiboPrint® patterns fall within a fixed degree of similarity. These patterns can be generated prior or subsequent to each other and may be used to determine the level of similarity between isolates as part of a tracking and trending exercise in an Environmental Monitoring (EM) program. Our team builds and maintains a custom library for each customer who submits samples for riboprinting. Each time the customer submits a new sample, it will be compared to all previous samples in their custom library and assigned to a RiboGroup.
In some cases, automated ribotyping can be less effective than sequence-based strain typing, as some species have very little diversity within the ribosomal RNA operon analyzed by the RiboPrinter®. In these cases, sequence-based methods for bacterial strain characterization (SLST and MLST) can provide a much higher level of discrimination and repeatability than automated riboprinting and should be strongly considered.
Strain Typing Service Overview
AccuGENX-ST® sequence typing is a microbial characterization process used to distinguish closely related microorganisms to the strain level by utilizing well-established, highly accurate sequencing methods, based on single and multilocus sequence typing (S/MLST). Learn More
Ribotyping and Strain Typing Specifications
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Order Code
Turnaround Time (TAT) Test Code 5 days AccuGENX-ST-5 5 days AccuGENX-XGST-5 5 days BACRIB-5 Contact us to gain a better understanding of both riboprinting and AccuGENX-ST® strain typing services to see which one is right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is ribotyping of bacterial strains?
Ribotyping is an automated fragment-based analysis of the organism’s DNA fingerprint using the RiboPrinter® system for bacterial characterization.
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What is a riboprinting pattern?
Riboprinting is a fragment-based technology that utilizes restriction enzymes to target and cut regions of the ribosomal RNA genes (5S, 16S, 23S, and the spacer region including Glu-tRNA), generating a DNA fingerprint that is unique to the organism at the strain level. This DNA fingerprint is known as a riboprinting pattern.
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Are more modern and accurate technologies available for bacterial characterization?
Sequence-based methods of strain typing such as single or multilocus sequence typing (SLST and MSLT) are the recommended options for a higher level of discrimination and repeatability. Most academic research sources, such as the American Society for Microbiology’s Journal of Clinical Microbiology, agree that MLST is the most powerful method for discriminating between isolates.
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What is the difference between riboprinting and strain typing services?
The AccuGENX-ST® strain typing service performs DNA sequencing of targets outside of the standard regions sequenced for microbial identification such as 16S, D2, or ITS2, to show differences and similarities of the strain. This method is superior to riboprinting, although ribotyping can be used without any prior development. Strain typing can offer a definitive answer when tracking sources of contamination or verifying production strains.