You lab mate suggest that sequencing the 16s ribosome gene from bacteria A might be a better approach for identifying the bacteria. After you obtain the sequence, what would you need to do in order to complete the identification?

Explanation:

After obtaining the sequence of the 16s ribosome, these sequences must be first assembled before they can undergo further analysis. The genome assembly consists of putting the fragments in the correct order, and eliminating overlaps. Due to the large amount of data, this process is conducted by a computer, which examines short DNA fragments and deduces their order from the overlaps.

After obtaining the full sequence and in the correct order, it is compared to other sequences in a data base that stores the 16s ribosome genes of all the bacterial groups discovered so far. The percentage of similarity between the sample and an entry of this data base will indicate the identity of the bacteria.

geologic time scale (for gradpoint) =)