3.
TAXONOMY OF MICROBES
TAXONOMY
The science of classification, especially the classification of living forms, is called
taxonomy (from the Greek for orderly arrangement).
Organisms have traits that are similar to and different from other organisms.
Scientists organize organisms into groups by developing taxonomy.
Organisms that have similar characteristics are presumed to have a natural
relationship and therefore are placed in the same group.
Taxonomy has three components:
Classification. The arrangement of organisms into groups based on similar
characteristics, evolutionary similarity or common ancestry. These groups are
also called taxa.
Nomenclature. The name given to each organism. Each name must be unique
and should depict the dominant characteristic of the organism.
Identification. The process of observing and classifying organisms into a
standard group that is recognized throughout the biological community.
Scientific Nomenclature
In a world inhabited by millions of living organisms, biologists must be sure they know
exactly which organism is being discussed. We cannot use common names, because
the same name is often used for many different organisms in different locales. For
example, there are two different organisms with the common name Spanish moss, and
neither one is actually a moss. Plus, local languages are used for common names.
Because common names can be misleading and are in different languages, a system of
scientific names, referred to as scientific nomenclature, was developed in the eighteenth
century. Every organism is assigned two names, or a binomial. These names are the
genus name and specific epithet (species), and both names are printed underlined or
italicized. The genus name is always capitalized and is always a noun. The species
name is lowercase and is usually an adjective. Because this system gives two names to
each organism, the system is called binomial nomenclature.
1
Let’s consider some examples. Our own genus and specific epithet are Homo sapiens
(ho/mo sa/pe-ens). The noun, or genus, means man; the adjective, or specific epithet,
means wise. A mold that contaminates bread is called Rhizopus stolonifer (ri 'zo-pus
sto'ion- i-fer). Rhizo- (root) describes root like structureson the fungus; stolo- (a shoot)
describes the long hyphae.
In the mid-1700s, Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus was one of the first scientists
to develop taxonomy for living organisms.
In 1969 Robert H. Whittaker, proposed a new taxonomy that consisted of five
kingdoms
Scientists widely accepted Whitteker’s taxonomy until 1977 when Carl Woese, in
collaboration with Ralph S. Wolfe, proposed new six-kingdom taxonomy.
Woese’s six-kingdom taxonomy consists of:
Eubacteria (has rigid cell wall)
Archaebacteria (anaerobes that live in swamps, marshes, and in the
intestines of mammals)
Protista (unicellular eukaryotes and algae)
Fungi (multicellular forms and single-cell yeasts)
Plantae
Animalia
o Woese determined that archaebacteria and eubacteria are two groups by
studying the rRNA sequences in prokaryotic cells.
o Today organisms are grouped into three categories called domains that are
represented as bacteria, archaea, and eukaryotes.
o The domains are placed above the phylum and kingdom levels.
o The evolutionary relationship among the three domains is:
Domain Bacteria (eubacteria)
Domain Archaea (archaebacteria)
Domain Eucarya (eukaryotes)
2
Classification of Microbes
o Archaea lack muramic acid in the cell walls.
o Bacteria have a cell wall composed of peptidoglycan and muramic acid.
o Eukarya have a defined nucleus and membrane bound organelles.
Taxonomic rank
o Taxonomy has an overlapping hierarchy that forms levels of rank or category similar
to an organization chart.
o Each rank contains microorganisms that have similar characteristics.
o Microorganisms that belong to a lower rank have characteristics that are associated
with a higher rank to which the lower rank belongs.
o Microbiologists use a microbial taxonomy, which is different from what biologists,
who work with larger organisms, use.
o Microbial taxonomy is commonly called prokaryotic taxonomy.
o The widely accepted prokaryotic taxonomy is Bergey’s Manual of Systematic
Bacteriology, first published in 1923 by the American Society for Microbiology.
3
o In the taxonomy of prokaryotes, the most commonly used rank (in order from most
general to most specific) is:
Domain
Kingdom
Phyla
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
o The basic taxonomic group in microbial taxonomy is the species.
o The prokaryotic species are collections of strains that share many properties and
differ dramatically from other groups or strains.
o A strain is a group of microorganisms that share characteristics that are different
from microorganisms in other strains.
o Biovars is a species that contains strains characterized by differences in its
biochemistry and physiology.
o Morphovars differ morphologically
o Serovars have distinctive antigenic properties.
Bacteria
o Prokaryotes (No membrane bound organelles)
o Peptidoglycan cell walls
o Binary fission
o For energy, use organic chemicals, inorganic chemicals, or photosynthesis
Archaea
o Prokaryotic
o Lack peptidoglycan
o Live in extreme environments
4
o Include
Methanogens
Extreme halophiles
Extreme thermophiles
Eucarya
o All members of living world that are not prokaryotes are in domain Eukarya
o May be single celled or multi-cellular
o Always contain true membrane-bound nucleus and other internal organelles
o Far more complex than prokaryotes
Eukaryotic Microorganisms
o Microbial eukaryotes are a diverse group that includes algae, protozoa, fungi,
and slime molds.
Fungi
Eukaryotes
Chitin cell walls
Use organic chemicals for energy.
yeasts (unicellular fungi), molds (filamentous fungi)
Protozoa
Eukaryotes
Absorb or ingest organic chemicals
May be motile via pseudopods, cilia, or flagella
Algae
Eukaryotes
Cellulose cell walls
Use photosynthesis for energy
Produce molecular oxygen and organic compounds
Multicellular Animal Parasites
Eukaryote
Multicellular animals
Parasitic flatworms and round worms are called helminths.
5
Microscopic stages in life cycles