Environmental air sampling to detect biological warfare agents.

The rapid and unequivocal detection and identification of biological warfare agents is a major goal of military and civilian defense authorities. To identify agents of concern in an environmental sample, a reliable, region-specific characterization of the microorganisms found naturally at the sampling location is required. We have analyzed environmental air samples from Korea, Kuwait, and Bahrain by polymerase chain reaction and temporal temperature gradient electrophoresis and have produced genetic fingerprints of the natural microbial flora in these regions.