Biolog, Inc. have announced details of its latest GEN III identification database version 2.8, containing 1568 taxa, including 258 plant pathogens. This database update was completed by scientists at Biolog's headquarters in Hayward, CA in collaboration with Dr. Bevan Weir and his colleagues at Landcare Research in Auckland, New Zealand.

The database update reflects Biolog's commitment to serving the needs of the agricultural market by providing state-of-the-art tools for bacteria, yeast and filamentous fungi identification and characterization. Using Biolog's OmniLog® and MicroStation™ Systems, many bacterial plant pathogens can now be identified to the pathovar level. This level of resolution of pathovars, especially within the Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas genera, cannot be easily achieved by current molecular testing technologies

Biolog’s CEO Dr. Barry Bochner stated, “We are pleased to release this updated database and believe that this greatly expanded capability will provide an important benefit to our agricultural customers needing to rapidly and efficiently identify pathogens isolated from plants.”  Dr. Bevan Weir, Landcare Research Scientist and ICMP Culture Collection Curator noted, “Landcare Research is a world leader in plant pathogen identification and taxonomy. Our extensive ICMP culture collection was used to ensure that the data in the GEN III database is scientifically robust and useful for the agriculture sector.”  The GEN III version 2.8 database is compatible with previous versions and platforms configured to run Biolog’s GEN III MicroPlates™.