Accurate identification of clinically important spp.: an update.

species have emerged as one of the most clinically important pathogens. The phenotypic techniques which are currently available are insufficient in accurately identifying and differentiating the closely related and clinically important species. Here, we discuss the advantages and limitations of the conventional phenotypic methods, automated identification systems, molecular methods and MALDI-TOF in the precise identification and differentiation of species. More specifically, several species of this genus are increasingly reported to be of high clinical importance. Molecular characterization such as of -like PCR together with sequencing has high discriminatory power over the conventional methods for species identification, especially within the complex.