ABSTRACT
This is a moving mark, as new platforms arrive on the scene at regular intervals. This survey, therefore, is a beginning and serves to demonstrate many different platforms that may be of service to the detection and identication of microbes. The question as presented several times in this book is that it depends on the application. Simple detection, without the need for a thorough identication to strain, may be utilized on one or more of the more simple platforms. Simple identication to genera or even types of bacteria, some fungi, and a few virus types may be all that is required for many applications. Complex and detailed analysis for identication of strain or unknown microbes may indicate the most sensitive of the platforms.
