Fish method for identification of microbes in wastewater distribution systems

Abstract

The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method is widely used to identify various types of cells. In comparison to cultivation dependent methods, identification of microbes by FISH is easier and generally takes several hours. A review of improvements to the FISH method has been presented, its advantages and disadvantages, as well as examples of application. Particular consideration was given to the efficiency of identification of microbes in samples taken from sewerage. The effectiveness of the method was confirmed by the results obtained in samples from the membrane bioreactor.