What does ITS identification refer to

ITS sequence refers to the transcribed spacer between 5.8s, 18s and 28s rDNA sequences on fungal rDNA. 5.8s, 18s and 28s rDNA sequences are highly conserved evolutionarily, whereas ITS sequences are highly variable in nature due to the low selective pressure, and exhibit sequence polymorphisms in the majority of fungi, which is characterized by relative intra-species consistency and relatively obvious inter-species differences. It is very suitable for fungal identification and phylogenetic analysis. Due to the rapid identification and accurate analysis, ITS has been widely used to make up for the shortcomings of traditional identification methods.

The use of ITS sequence analysis can realize the rapid and accurate identification of most species of fungi. The identification does not require repeated cultivation for physiological and biochemical reactions and experiments, which greatly shortens the identification period and the accuracy of identification.

The steps of identification include:

* Extraction of DNA from microbial samples

* Amplification of fungal ITS region sequences

* DNA sequencing, comparing the sample sequences with known sequences in GenBank

* Determination of the microbial species, which can be categorized into genus or species

* Construction of a phylogenetic tree with species of higher homology

* Identification of microbial species by ITS sequence analysis

* Identification of fungal species by ITS sequence analysis. Construct phylogenetic tree