Hello everyone! For the previous microbiology class which is on Tuesday and Thursday, I learned about Classification of Organisms. The learning outcomes are as follows:
- to create official names for new microorganisms
- to plan strategy and select methods for classification and identification of microorganisms
So, in order to create official names for new microorganisms, the are some rules that must be obeyed. Have you ever heard about taxonomy? What does it mean? Taxonomy is actually the science of biological classification. Taxonomy can be divided into 3 parts which are classification, identification and nomenclature.
Classification → Arrangement of organisms into groups or taxon (plural:taxa) based on mutual similarity or evolutionary relatedness.
Identification → Process of discovering and recording the traits of organisms.
Nomenclature → Assignment of names to taxonomic groups in agreement with published rule.
Rules governing the naming of organisms can be found in :-
For protozoa and parasitic worms - International Code of Zoological Nomenclature
For fungi and algae - International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
For bacteria - International Code for Nomenclature of Bacteria
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| Bergey's Manual |
Some methods of classifying and identifying microorganisms are include:
- Morphological Characteristics
- Differential Staining
- Biochemical Tests
- Serology
- Phage typing
- Fatty Acid Profiles
- DNA Base Composition
- DNA Fingerprinting
- Nucleic Acid Hybridization
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| Phage Typing |
Dichotomous Keys is widely used for identification. Identification is based on successive questions, and each question has two possible answers. It is very little to do with phylogenetic relationships. Cladograms show evolutionary relationships among organisms. It is can be constructed based on rRNA sequences with the aid of software.
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| Dichotomous Keys |
* We played a game called MIGHTY MICROBES. Its really super duper awesome. Its quite similar to UNO cards. I want to play that again next time seriously.
