BACTERIAL
CLASSIFICATIO
N
LECTURE
OBJECTIVES
• Define and understand bacterial
classification criteria and related
methods
• Learn about host-microorganism
interactions
• Define and understand concepts of
disinfection, sterilization, antisepsis
Presentation
overview
• Taxonomy
Classification
Nomenclature
Typing
• Methods of bacterial
classification
Phenotypic (traditional)
Genotypic (molecular)
Chemotaxanomic
Taxonomy
Taxos=arrangeme
nt
Nomos=law
• The science of
classification of living and
extinct organisms
• Linne: binomial
nomenclature
(Carl Linnaeus)
Prokaryotic-eukaryotic
classification
Acellular Prokaryotic Eukaryotic
Viruses Bacteria Algae
Prions Chlamydia Protozooa
Viroid Mycoplasma Helminths
Rickettsia Arthropods
Fungi
• Molds
• Yeasts
Prokaryotes and
eukaryotes
Prokaryotes
pro=before
karyon=nucle
us
Eukaryotes
eu=true
karyon=nucle
us
BACTERI ARCHAE EUKARY
A A A
3 DOMAIN
SYSTEM
Bacterial classification
1 st name identifier
2 nd name identifier
Bacterial
classification
• Systematic arrangement of organisms into groups (so-called taxa)
based on common properties according to phenotypic and
genotypic characteristics
Importance of bacterial classification:
• Facilitates accurate identification of bacteria
• Determining of infectious disease agents during epidemiology
investigations
• Essential to bacterial nomenclature
Bacterial identification
methods
• PHENOTYPIC
METHODS
• GENOTYPIC
METHODS
• CHEMICAL METHODS
Bacterial identification
GENOTYPIC
METHODS
DNA-DNA hybridization
rRNA similarity
Other genotypic
methods
- PCR, PFGE, VNTR
DNA-DNA hybridization
• G+C % in
DNA
Eg. Escherichia %100
coli
rRNA sequencing
analysis
• Great advantage for bacterial classification
• Differences in nucleotide sequences can be used for
prokaryote classification
• 16S rRNA sequencing
• 23S rRNA sequencing
Phylogenetic association among bacteria depending on rRNA
sequencing
Bacterial identification
PHENOTYPIC
METHODS
Morphological
Physiological
Chemical
Bacterial identification
PHENOTYPIC
METHODS
Gram staining (cell wall)
Morphology
Need for O2
Endospores
Depending on the cell
wall:
[Link] positive bacteria
[Link] negative bacteria
[Link] with no cell wall
Eg. Mycoplasma,
Ureoplasma
[Link]
Eg. Mycobacteria,
Rickettsia
Depending on the
morphology:
• Cocci
• Bacilli
• Spirrilla
• Spirochetes
[Link] Negative
Spiral Bacteria
• Slender and flexible,
come in a lot of
different shapes
• More rigid than
spirochetes
• Eg. Campylobacter
jejuni
- symptoms: tenesmus –
the sensation of desire to
defecate,
occuring frequently, often
2. Gram Negative
Spirochetes
• Pathogenic
• Very flexible
• Tightly coiled,
helically coiled
• Eg. Treponema
pallidum
- syphilis
3. Gram Negative Aerobic
Bacilli
• Legionella
pneumophila
- Lower respiratory tract
infection
- Needs oxygen
4. Gram Negative Facultative
Bacilli
• Enteric
- Salmonella
- Shigella
- E. coli
(0157H7)
5. Gram Negative Anaerobic
Bacilli
• Fusobacterium
- Live in between
teeth and gums
- Cause tooth
abscesses and
periodontal disease
- Teeth have nothing to
anchor to, bone is
destroyed
6. Gram Negative
Cocci
• Neisseria gonorrheaea
- Usually in diplococcus in PMN
- Gonorrhea
- Sexually transmitted disease
(STD)
- Antibiotic resistant
7. Gram Positive
Cocci
• Staphylococcus aureus
• MRSA
- boils, impetigo, cellulitis,
abscesses
- responsible for multiple
serious infections
8. Gram Positive Anaerobic Spore-
forming Bacilli
• Clostridium tetani – tetanus (muscle spasms,
lockjaw)
• Clostridium perfringens – gas gangrene
9. Gram Positive Aerobic Spore-
forming Bacilli
Bacillus
• B. anthracis –
anthrax
• zoonosis
10. Coryneform Bacteria
(Diphtheroids)
Pleomorphic
• eg. Corynebacterium
diphtheriae
• Diphtheria (swollen neck,
blocking
of airways
11.
Chlamydiae
• Very short small rods
• Transitional – doesn’t hold stain well
• Do not have the ability to
synthesize own ATP, therefore
obligate intracellular parasite of
other animals (humans)
• Can stay asymptomatic for a long
time
Eg. C. trachomatis – STD,
causes eye infection
12.
Rickettsia
• Small Gram negative rods
• Transitional – doesn’t hold stain well
• Can’t synthesize it’s own NAD
coenzyme A, thefore an obligate
intracellular parasite
• Causative agent of epidemic typhus
(rash in extremities
Eg. R. prowazekii
13.
Mycoplasma
• Gram positive
• Doesn’t stain well
• No cell wall
• Not sensitive to peniclillin
Eg. Mycoplasma pneumoniae –
lower respiratory tract infection
Ureaplasma urealyticum – via
sexual contact
14.
Mycobacteria
• Gram positive irregular bacilli
• Acid fast staining
• Mycolic acid and fatty acids, lipids,
waxes in cell wall
• Grows slowly
• Strict aerobe
Eg. Mycobacterium tuberculosis – TB
Chest pain, cough with sputum, scarring in
upper lobes, pulmonary cavitation
Bacterial
identification
CHEMICAL
METHODS
Classification of organisms based on differences and similarities in
chemical markers (cell wall constituents, lipids, whole cell
proteins)
Cellular lipid analyis
MALTI-TOF MS
FTIR spectroscopy
Whole-cell protein analysis (Western blot)
Cell wall structure