Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Direct Microbial Identification using An Automated Microbial Identification System to Facilitate the EUCAST RAST Method Without Mass Spectrometry
Published on: May 24, 2024
Distribution of nocardia species in clinical samples and their routine rapid identification in the laboratory
Georges Wauters1, Véronique Avesani, Jacqueline Charlier
1Microbiology Unit, University of Louvain, UCL/5490, Av. Hippocrate 54, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium. wauters@mblg.ucl.ac.be
Abstract:
Eighty-six Nocardia strains isolated from clinical samples in Belgium were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Eighty-three (96%) strains belonged to only six Nocardia species: N. farcinica (38 [44%]), N. nova (19 [22%]), N. cyriacigeorgica (13 [15%]), N. brasiliensis (6 [6.9%]), N. abscessus (5 [5.8%]), and N. paucivorans (2 [2.3%]). A gallery of nine conventional and enzymatic tests was developed for the rapid identification of the most common species isolated during this survey. Pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase, gamma-glutamyl aminopeptidase, alpha-mannosidase, and alpha-glucosidase were found to be highly discriminating and could be used to develop an identification scheme.
Related Concept Videos
Rapid Identification of Pathogens
Methods of Classification and Identification
Automated Microbial Diagnostics
Differential Staining Technique