Methods for Microbial Identification in Clinical Specimens by Differential Ribosomal RNA Probe Hybridization

A method of identifying a target microbe in a specimen and including the steps of a) obtaining a specimen, b) lysing the specimen to release a plurality of rRNA molecules from one or more first target microbes in the specimen, c) contacting the specimen with a plurality of first oligonucleotide probe sets configured to selectively bind to rRNA molecules released from the target microbe thereby forming a plurality of first hybridized complexes, each first hybridized complex including one first capture probe and one first detector probe and one of the plurality of rRNA molecules, and d) analyzing the first hybridized complexes to identify a first target microbe in the specimen.