Patent ID: 8420345

Claim:
A method for identifying two groups of microorganisms expressing a same enzymatic activity, comprising the following steps: a) incubating the two groups of microorganisms in a reaction medium comprising a first enzyme substrate and a second enzyme substrate, said first and second enzyme substrates being capable of being metabolized by the same enzymatic activity selected from the group consisting of β-D-glucosidase, β-D-galactosidase, alpha-D-glucosidase, alpha-D-galactosidase, alpha-mannosidase, β-D-glucuronidase, N-acetyl-β-D-hexosaminidase, β-D-cellobiosidase, esterase, phosphatase, phospholipase, sulfatase, and peptidase; and b) identifying the two groups of microorganisms based on differences between signals produced by the two groups of microorganisms from hydrolysis of the first and second enzyme substrates; wherein: it has been predetermined that each of the two groups of microorganisms exhibits different enzymatic affinities for the first and second enzyme substrates sufficiently to differentiate between the two groups of microorganisms when incubated in a reaction medium comprising a combination of the first and second enzyme substrates; the reaction medium further comprises at least one other substrate metabolized by at least one other enzymatic activity; and the microorganisms are selected from bacteria and yeasts.