The proposed research will use an advanced fluorescence instrument, the video fluorometer, to achieve rapid, specific detection and identification of pathogenic bacteria from laboratory or clinical isolates. The video fluorometer is a highly efficient instrument which simultaneously records both excitation and emission spectra with a multichannel detector. Its capacity of acquiring up to 200 emission spectra excited at 200 different wavelengths in less than one second takes advantage of the inherent multicomponent aspect of fluorescence. Thus, several fluorescent compounds can be detected simultaneously. Use of computer algorithms with the data acquisition system of a video fluorometer provides file searching capabilities for large numbers of metabolic profiles. This system provides a rapid and versatile technique for analysis of either extracts from whole organisms or metabolic products from growth media.