PathoGenetix Resolution Microbial Genotyping System

PathoGenetix has launched the Resolution Microbial Genotyping System for rapid bacterial serotyping and strain typing. The fully automated system is designed for food safety testing and foodborne illness outbreak investigations, and includes the instrument, pathogen databases, bioinformatics and data-analysis software, and pathogen-specific assays.

The system is based on the company's proprietary Genome Sequence Scanning (GSS) technology, initially developed to detect biothreat pathogens in environmental samples under a five-year, $50 million contract from the US Department of Homeland Security. The GSS technology isolates and analyzes DNA direct from complex mixtures without the need for a pure culture isolate, and provides molecular serotype and strain type information for target bacteria in just five hours. The strain type information provided by GSS is comparable to pulsed field gel electrophoresis, the current gold standard for pathogen identification, the company said.

The Resolution features a comprehensive pathogen library that includes 371 strains of Salmonella, 402 strains of Escherichia coli, and 53 strains of Listeria.