Comparison of traditional phenotypic identification methods with partial 5' 16S rRNA gene sequencing for species-level identification of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli.

Correct identification of nonfermenting Gram-negative bacilli (NFB) is crucial for patient management. We compared phenotypic identifications of 96 clinical NFB isolates with identifications obtained by 5' 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Sequencing identified 88 isolates (91.7%) with >99% similarity to a sequence from the assigned species; 61.5% of sequencing results were concordant with phenotypic results, indicating the usability of sequencing to identify NFB.