Although analysis of 16S ribosomal RNA has revolutionized the ability to classify bacteria and understand their phylogenetic relationships, it is less useful for classifying related strains of bacteria that share similar or identical 16S rRNA gene sequences but exhibit distinct properties. To address this, Jolley et al. have developed a ribosomal multilocus sequence typing (rMLST) approach that relies on variations in the 53 rps genes that encode the bacterial ribosomal proteins. These genes are ideal candidates, as most bacteria contain all 53, and they are distributed around the chromosome and are under stabilizing selection. Jolley et al. created a database comprising whole genome sequences of 1,900 bacteria that can be used to analyse rps sequences to allow rapid classification of an isolate. It may be possible to include rps sequences from other domains, providing a truly universal classification system.