Biodiversity and systematic Unit 8

Need for taxonomy- It helps us categorize organisms so we can more easily communicate
biological information. Taxonomy uses hierarchical classification as a way to help scientists
understand and organize the diversity of life on our planet. The general purpose of taxonomy is
to arrange plants in such a way as to provide an information retrieval system, i.e. the name and
rank or position in an ordered hierarchy, which tells us something about the specimen. It comes
from two Greek words, taxis meaning arrangement and nomous meaning law or rule. It helps to
ascertain the number of living beings on Earth. More than one million of species of plants and
animals have been discovered and classified so far. It aims to classify the living organisms.
Millions of organisms are classified scientifically in categories, which helps to have a better
understanding. It helps us to get an idea of the traits present in plants and animals. It gives an
idea of the order of the physical development. It gives an idea of local fauna and flora, thus
helping us to distinguish the endemic species.

Objectives of Taxonomy:

1. Firstly, taxonomy aims at classifying organisms into taxa on the basis of similarities in
phenotypic (phenetic) characteristics i.e. the characteristics which are expressed in an
organism and can be examined visually or can be tested by other means.
As each phenotypic characteristic is controlled by one or a group of genes, two individuals
which possess similar phenotypic characteristic must have similar genes. Large number of
similar phenotypic characteristic, therefore, reveals a genetic closeness between organisms.
Genetic closeness is also often linked with phylogenetic relatedness, because organisms having
many common genes among them must have originated from a common stock during
evolution. For instance, if two organisms, A and B, are phylogenetically closer than to another
organism, C, it means that A and B have branched off from a common stock in more recent
times than C which branched off earlier.
2. The second objective of taxonomy is to assign each taxon a name. This naming of a
taxon is known as nomenclature. Assigning a name to an organism is necessary for
identifying it without confusion throughout the scientific world. Therefore,
nomenclature needs to be made following certain internationally accepted rules.
Scientific naming of bacteria is governed by the International code of nomenclature of
bacteria (The Revised code of 1975). An updated edition of the Revised code has been
published in 1992.
Like other organisms, bacterial names have two parts, — a genus name and a species name.
Both names must be in Latinized form. This type of naming of biological organisms called,
binomial nomenclature, was first introduced by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The generic name is a
Latinized noun starting with a capital letter and the specific epithet is generally a Latinized
adjective qualifying the genus name.
The species name is written in small hand. As an international convention, the generic and
specific names are italicized. To avoid confusion, a scientific name of an organism also requires
the citation of the author’s name who first proposed the name. In assigning a name to a newly
discovered bacterium, the author or authors must strictly observe the rules laid down by the
International Code.
3. The third objective of taxonomy is to serve as an instrument for identification of the
specimen. A newly isolated organism can be assorted to its nearest allies or can be
identified as a new hitherto unknown taxon. This makes taxonomy a dynamic branch of
biology, because discovery of new organisms constantly demands changes in the
existing classification.
4. Also, adoption of new techniques for classifying organisms often necessitates changes,
sometimes thorough changes in the existing framework. For example, the developments
in the molecular biological techniques, like DNA hybridization, have made a great impact
on the taxonomy of bacteria. In fact, a new branch of taxonomy called molecular
taxonomy has come into existence. The determination of homology of ribosomal RNA’s
is another development which has revolutionized bacterial taxonomy.

The main objectives of taxonomy are:

(1) Obtaining a suitable specimen (collecting, preserving and, when necessary, making special
preparations);
(2) Comparing the specimen with the known range of variation of living things;
(3) correctly identifying the specimen if it has been described, or preparing a description
showing similarities to and differences from known forms, or, if the specimen is new, naming it
according to internationally recognized codes of nomenclature;
(4) determining the best position for the specimen in existing classifications and determining
what revision the classification may require as a consequence of the new discovery; and
(5) Using available evidence to suggest the course of the specimens’ evolution.