Bacterial classification and Identification

Bacterial Nomenclature

• Universal system of assigning names to similar groups of bacteria

according to international codes and rules

• Binomial nomenclature: Genus and species

• e.g: Pseudomonas aeroginosa

• Streptococcus pyogenes
 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:

• - facilities accurate identification of bacteria

• - determining infectious agents during epidemiology investigations

• - essential to bacterial nomenclature

1900- 1950 1950s: numerical 1960s: introduction of genotypic

taxonomy based taxonomy and methods
on morphology chemotaxonomy
 Bacterial Identification Methods

• Phenotypic ( traditional)

• Genotypic ( molecular)

• Chemotaxonomic
 Phenotypic (traditional) Identification methods
• Gram stain ( cell wall); gram positive or gram negative
• Bacterial cell morphology and arrangement ( bacilli, cocci, spiral)
• Other types of stains; acid fast stain, capsule stain, spore stain, flagella stain….)
• Culture characteristics ; colonial morphology
• Growth requirements; can be grouped on the basis of their need to oxygen to grow
• Biochemical reactions (cell macromolecules); ( enzymes, motility, fermentation….)
• Serologic systems; specific antisera detect either carbohydrate or protein antigens
from bacteria ( ELISA, agglutination)
• Antibiogram
• fully or partly automated identification methods (Vitek, Phoenix,...)
In the last 15 years molecular and chemotaxonomic methods have

proven beneficial in overcoming some of these limitations

 Genotypic ( Molecular) Identification systems
• Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence analysis: Universal Phylogenetic Tree; for all
living organisms ( eukaryote, bacteria and Archaea )- based on a comparison of
16s ribosomal RNA sequences.

• PCR; Polymerase Chain reaction

• Fingerprinting methods, DNA sequence analysis, plasmid anaylsis.

• Molecular subtyping; determine whether strains from the same species are the
same or different- outbreaks infections

• Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) is the most frequently used molecular
analysis .
 Chemotaxonomic methods

• Classify organisms based on differences and similarities in chemical

markers (cell wall constituents, lipids, whole cell proteins)

• Chemotaxonomic fingerprints
• Western Blot (determine molecular weight of cell proteins and to measure
relative amounts of the protein present in different samples), Proteins are
separated by gel electrophoresis, usually
• SDS-PAGE; sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis;
separate proteins according to their electrophoretic mobility
• MALDI-TOF MS
• Advantages/ disadvantages of phenotypic methods in

identification?

• Advantages/ limitation of molecular method in identification?

Observation is the key to success!