Epigenetic Barcodes Scanned to Inventory Microbiomes More Exactly

Taking stock of microbiomes has implications for clinical care, but to date, inventory methods have struggled to identify individual microbial species and strains. Existing methods often classify microbial species as part of broader genetic families, missing details that could help clinicians predict the virulence, antibiotic resistance, and other traits of individual species and strains.Now, however, a new inventory method promises more accuracy. This method, which incorporates bacterial DNA me