16S ribosomal RNA - Reflexions

16S ribosomal RNA

This is a standard taxonomic marker which is found in ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The gene coding for the 16S rRNA (in the prokaryotes) and 18S (in the eukaryotes) has the particularity of being present in all living beings, and has therefore made it possible, after sequencing, to establish exhaustive phylogenetic trees to study the evolution of species. Today there is a database of several million 16S and 18S rRNA. When a scientist amplifies one of them, (s)he compares it to this database in order to be able to affiliate it with a group and therefore to identify the species of the specimen to which the 16S rRNA belongs. It is not for nothing that this sequence is commonly called the “genetic fingerprint” or “bar code”.