The
polymerase chain reaction (PCR) invented by Kary Mullis (Mullis and Faloona, 1987) and other more recently-developed
amplification techniques have simplified and accelerated the in vitro process of nucleic acid amplification. Rapid techniques of
nucleic acid amplification and characterization, along with the increased use of automation and user-friendly software, have
significantly broadened microbiologists’ research and development arsenal.