Table 1. Historical timeline of discoveries in molecular diagnostic procedures, with descriptions and applications in the 21st century [1]

Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(4):22. Whole-genome sequencing applications for evolution of clinical microbiology

Table 1. Historical timeline of discoveries in molecular diagnostic procedures, with descriptions and applications in the 21st century [1]

Year	Molecular procedures	Description	Applications
2000s	Microarrays	Analysis of gene expression, SNP genotyping, and comparative genomic hybridization	Study of gene expression, detection of genetic variation, and identification of chromosomal abnormalities
2000s	Metagenomics	Comprehensive analysis of entire pathogen populations	Identification of rare and uncultivable pathogens
2000s	Metabarcoding	Comprehensive analysis of pathogen populations based on barcode regions	Identification of rare and uncultivable pathogens
Late 2000s	NGS	Sequencing of entire genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes	Identification of genetic variation within and between pathogen populations
Late 2000s	RNA sequencing	Analysis of gene expression and identification of new transcripts	Study of gene regulation and identification of novel genes
Recent years	Single-cell sequencing	Sequencing of individual microbial cells	Analysis of genomic variation at the single-cell level
Recent years	Metatranscriptomics	Analysis of gene expression in pathogen populations	Study of pathogen function and activity in different environments
Recent years	CRISPR-Cas9 system	Targeted genome editing using RNA-guided endonucleases	Study of gene function and development of gene therapeutical approaches

Abbreviations: SNP, single-nucleotide polymorphism; NGS, next-generation sequencing; CRISPR, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.