TAXONOMICAL

CLASSIFICATION OF
MICROORGANISMS
TADEO | TARAPE | TOLENTINO
4CHEB - Group 3
 TAXONOMY
Taxonomy is a science that deals with systematic
arrangements.
Specifically, it is the biological classification of organisms.
Derived from the Greek words:
- "Taxis" (arrangement)
- "Nomos" (law)
Organisms are placed in organized arrangements or groups
and hierarchies are established.
 Timeline of Taxonomy
KEY BREAKTHROUGHS

384 B.C. - 79 A.D. 1735: Late 19th Century: Modern Times

Ancient Greeks Carl Linnaeus: Marks the Start of (1960 - 1970):
Classified living beings
The Father of Bacterial Further
as belonging to either
Modern Taxonomy Developments on
the Kingdom Animae Taxonomy Taxonomy of
Bacteria was classified
or Plant Kingdom. Published his book Microorganisms
on the basis of
called Systema phenotypic markers. Distinction between
Naturae. prokaryotes and
eukaryotes .
 TAXONOMY
Has 3 Components:
1. Classification - organisms are arranged into taxa (singular:
taxon)
They are categorized based on similar characteristics
The use of international standard systems or methods
For Microorganisms -
2. Nomenclature - involved with the assignment of names to
various taxonomic groups
3. Identification - the practical side of classification and
nomenclature
Recognition of vital characteristics of an organism
Identification of unknown organisms
Taxonomic Key - written descriptions of the essential
characteristics and morphological features of a specific
organism. These are helpful for identification of unknown
organisms
TAXONOMIC RANK
Hierarchal system of taxonomical classification
 EUKARYOTES
Complex (multicellular) and larger cells
Contains a nucleus, and membrane-bound
organelles
The genetic material (DNA) is located within
the nucleus
Contains more cell parts
Cell division is via mitosis
Reproduction can be asexual and sexual
PROKARYOTES
Simple (unicellular) and smaller cells
Does not contain nucleus, and there's an
absence of membrane-bound organelles
Genetic material (DNA) is located in the
nucleoid
Contains less cell parts
Cell division is via binary fission
Reproduction is asexual
THREE DOMAIN SYSTEM
CELL TYPE DOMAIN KINGDOM
ARCHAEA ARCHAEBACTERIA
PROKARYOTIC
BACTERIA EUBACTERIA

PROTISTA

FUNGI
EUKARYOTIC EUKARYA
PLANTAE

ANIMALIA
ARCHAEA
Prokaryotic; Kingdom Archaebacteria (ancient
bacteria)
Similar appearance to bacteria
Similar to bacteria: Reproduction by binary fission;
one circular chromosome; Use flagella to move in
an environment
Different cell wall composition, membrane
composition, and rRNA type than bacteria and
eukaryotes
Most live in extreme environments (extremophiles)
Sources for enzymes with novel properties
ARCHAEA
Three main divisions: Staphylothermus marinus
(a hyperthermophile)
Acidianus infernus
(a thermoacidophile)
Crenarchaeota
Hyperthermophiles - extreme temperatures
Thermoacidophiles - high temperature and low pH
Euryarchaeota
Methanosarcina
Methanogens – produce methane as a byproduct of (a methanogen)

metabolism in an anaerobic environment

Halobacteria – live only in very strong salt solutions
Korarchaeota
Little is known; found in places like hot springs,
Halobacterium
hydrothermal vents, and obsidian pools
BACTERIA
Kingdom Eubacteria (true bacteria)
Unique cell wall composition and rRNA type
Some are pathogenic (cause diseases)
Some are essential to life, part of the human
microbiota
Help in digestion, nutrient absorption,
immunity activation, and other vital functions
Primary decomposers (for nutrient recycling in the
ecosystem)
BACTERIA
Main categories:
Escherichia coli Proteobacteria – the largest group of bacteria
E. coli, Salmonella, Heliobacter pylori, and
Vibrio bacteria
Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae)– capable of
Cyanobacteria photosynthesis
Firmicutes –gram-positive bacteria including
Clostridium, Bacillus, and Mycoplasmas
(bacteria without cell walls)
BACTERIA
Main categories
Chlamydiae – parasitic bacteria; include Chlamydia
trachomatis (causes chlamydia STD) and
Chlamydia pneumoniae (causes pneumonia)
Spirochetes – corkscrew-shaped bacteria
exhibiting a unique twisting motion; include
Borrelia burgdorferi (cause Lyme disease) and
Treponema pallidum (cause syphilis)
EUKARYA
Eukaryotic
Distinct rRNA from bacteria and archaea
Plant and fungi – different cell wall
composition than bacteria
Typically resistant to antibacterial antibiotics
Four Kingdoms:
Protista
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia
PROTISTA
Algae – unicellular; some are plantlike, multicellular;
photosynthetic, and contain chloroplasts
Wastewater treatment, gelling agent, biofuel production
Some groups include:
Rhodophyta (red algae)
Phaeophyta (brown algae)
Chlorophyta (green algae)
Bacillariophyta (golden-brown algae)
Protozoa – unicellular and relatively large (1-50mm)
eukaryotic cells lacking cell walls; ingesting other small
organisms (bacteria, food particles) for food;
FUNGI
Heterotrophs; are widespread in nature; internal
structures are easily seen with a light microscope
Two major groups
Yeasts – usually spherical, cylindrical, or oval;
Saccharomyces cerevisiae (for alcohol
formation (anaerobic) and baker’s yeast
production (aerobic)
Molds – mobile filamentous fungi; mycelial
structure (mycelium – highly branched system
of tubes containing mobile cytoplasm and
many nuclei)
 FUNGI
Fungi Classifications:
Phycomycetes – alga-like fungi but cannot
photosynthesize; include aquatic and terrestrial molds
Ascomycetes – form sexual spores called ascospores,
contained within a sac; include yeasts and some molds
of genera Neurospora and Aspergillus
Basidiomycetes – reproduce by basidiospores, which
extend from stalks of basidia cells; include mushrooms
Deuteromycetes – (Fungi imperfecti) does not
reproduce by sexual means; some pathogenic fungi,
such as Trichophyton (cause athlete’s foot)
 PLANTAE
Eukaryotic, multicellular autotrophs;
perform photosynthesis for their food.
rigid cell walls (cellulose and pectin)
beneficial to maintain ecological balance

ANIMALIA
Complex multicellular, eukaryotic, heterotrophs
Depend on other organisms for food
Have no cell wall;
Some cause human disease (parasitic infections;
vectors for other disease-causing organisms)
THREE DOMAIN SYSTEM
CELL TYPE DOMAIN KINGDOM
ARCHAEA ARCHAEBACTERIA
PROKARYOTIC
BACTERIA EUBACTERIA

PROTISTA

FUNGI
EUKARYOTIC EUKARYA
PLANTAE

ANIMALIA
 GENUS
PLURAL GENERA
Below Family and above species
consists of species that are structurally or
phylogenetically related to each other

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort Carl Linnaeus

Joseph Pitton de Tournefort (1656–1708) invented the
concept of Genera
Carl Linnaeus popularized the term "Genera" in Species
Plantarum (1753)
 GENUS
ACCEPTED NUMBER
Catalogue of Life (2018)
Estimated total: 173,363
Rees et al. (2020)
Estimated total: 296,932 (± 65,842)
Animalia: 239,093 (± 55,350)
Plantae: 28,724 (± 7,721)
Fungi: 10,468 (± 182)
Chromista: 11,114 (± 1,268)
Protozoa: 3,109 (± 1,206)
Bacteria: 3,433 (± 115)
Archaea: 140 (± 0)
Viruses: 851 (± 0)
 SPECIES
Basic unit of taxonomic rank
Can produce fertile offspring with each
other
Taxonomic relationship
Karyotype (set of chromosome)
DNA sequence
morphology
ecological behavior and niche
EVOLUTIONARY SPECIES
An evolutionary species is when different
species come from a distinct lineage of an
ancestor that has undergone a change in
morphology over time.
species a, b, and c are evolutionary species
species b is extinct
species a and b are separate species
CHRONOSPECIES
(Left figure) pseudoextinction occurs when a
specie is considered extinct when it undergoes
morphological changes
Single evolutionary species
(Right figure) The lineage is incomplete
Two separate but related species
 SPECIES
There are 8.7 million estimated species
of plants and animals
1.2 million are identified
Microorganisms are estimated to have
100 million species
largest groups are bacteria and
archaea
Diverse variation
cell number
inclusion or exclusion of nuclei
shapes
protrusion
 SUBSPECIES,
STRAIN, GENOME

Subspecies- population with varying physical

characteristics, living in different areas that can
interbreed
Strain- cultures with different genetic or phenotypic
characteristics
Genome- gene content of the organism that may closely
vary within a strain
 NOMENCLATURE
1. BINOMIAL
The scientific name consists
of the Genus then the species
written usually in Latin.
2. CAPITALIZATION
Genus is always capitalized.
Species is in lowercase.

Genus- Salmonella
Salmonella enterica
Species- enterica
 NOMENCLATURE
3. ITALICIATION
The scientific name is always italicized when printed. If
handwritten, the text could be in italics or underlined. However,
if the surrounding text is italicized, the scientific name would be
non-italic.

4. INITIALS
The genus in the scientific name
can be abbreviated into the
initial capital letter after writing
it out in full for the first time
5. SUBSPECIES
The subspecies are written
following rule 3 after writing
“subsp.”, subspecies in short.

Salmonella enterica causes salmonellosis.

In some reports, there is a direct transmission of S. enterica

between birds and humans.

S. enterica subsp. enterica causes majority of this infection

worldwide.
 REFERENCES
1. 100 million types. Micropia. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.micropia.nl/dossiercontent/microworld/en/5/?
ph=1#:~:text=Scientists%20estimate%20that%20there%20are,all%20plants%20and%20animals%20combined.
2. Bailey, R. (2019, November 28). Three Domain System. Retrieved from Though Co.: https://www.thoughtco.com/three-domain-system-
373413Biodiversity. National Geographic Society. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/biodiversity
3. Biology LibreTexts. (2021, January 4). The Levels of Classification. Retrieved from Biology LibreTexts:
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Microbiology/Book%3A_Microbiology_(Boundless)/8%3A_Microbial_Evolution_Phylogeny_and_Div
ersity/8.03%3A_Microbial_Phylogeny/8.3C%3A_The_Levels_of_Classification
4. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2017, April 20). genus. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/genus-taxon
5. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022, June 1). Joseph Pitton de Tournefort. Encyclopedia Britannica.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Pitton-de-Tournefort
6. BYJU'S. (2022, July 5). Binomial nomenclature - rules of binomial nomenclature. BYJUS. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://byjus.com/biology/binomial-nomenclature/
7. Byju's. (n.d.). Difference between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells. Retrieved from Byju's: https://byjus.com/biology/prokaryotic-and-
eukaryotic-cells/
8. Carr, S. M. (2005). Evolutionary species vs Chronospecies. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://www.mun.ca/biology/scarr/Evolutionary_vs_Chronospecies.html
9. Catalogue of Life – 2018 Annual Checklist : 2018 Annual Checklist. (2018). Retrieved from Catalogueoflife.org website:
http://www.catalogueoflife.org/annual-checklist/2018/info/ac
 REFERENCES
10. Collections Education. (2022). Taxonomic Keys. Retrieved from Collections Education: https://collectionseducation.org/identify-
specimen/taxonomic-keys/
11. Ehrlich, P. R., Dobkin, D. S., & Wheye, D. (1988). Taxonomy and Nomenclature. Retrieved from Stanford University:
https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Taxonomy.html
12. Fattah, S. (2021, August 2). Classification of Microorganisms. Retrieved from Slideshare:
https://www.slideshare.net/HiwrHastear/classification-of-microorganisms-249906445
13. Hardy, J. (2016, May). Nomenclature of Microorganisms. Retrieved from Hardy Diagnostics: http://hardydiagnostics.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/05/nomenclature-of-microorganisms.pdf
14. Hernandez, S. M., Keel, K., Sanchez, S., Trees, E., Gerner-Smidt, P., Adams, J. K., Cheng, Y., Ray, A., Martin, G., Presotto, A., Ruder, M. G.,
Brown, J., Blehert, D. S., Cottrell, W., & Maurer, J. J. (2012). Epidemiology of a salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar typhimurium
strain associated with a songbird outbreak. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 78(20), 7290–7298.
https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01408-12
15. Lakna. (2020, April 1). What is the difference between strain and species. Pediaa.Com. Retrieved September 27, 2022, from
https://pediaa.com/what-is-the-difference-between-strain-and-species/
16. Liu, S. (2020). Bioprocess Engineering. Cambridge: Elsevier.
17. Muller-Wille, S., & Scharf, S. (2009, January). Indexing Nature:. Retrieved from LSE Research Online:
http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/47386/1/indexing%20nature%28author%29.pdf
18. Pitt, T., & Barer, M. (2012). Classification, identification and typing of micro-organisms. Medical Microbiology. doi:10.1016/B978-0-7020-
4089-4.00018-4
 REFERENCES
19. Rees, T., Vandepitte, L., Decock, W., and Vanhoorne, B. (2017). "IRMNG 2006–2016: 10 Years of a Global Taxonomic Database" (PDF).
Biodiversity Informatics. 12: 1–44.
20. Rees, T., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., & Decock, W. (2020). All genera of the world: an overview and estimates based on the March 2020
release of the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera (IRMNG). Megataxa, 1(2), 123-140.
21. Sapp, J. (2005). The prokaryote-eukaryote dichotomy: meanings and mythology. Microbiology and molecular biology reviews.
doi:10.1128/MMBR.69.2.292-305.2005
22. Schleifer, K. (2009). Classification of Bacteria and Archaea: Past, present, and future. Systematic and Applied Microbiology , 533-542.
23. Taxonomy. (2022). Retrieved from Science Encyclopedia: https://science.jrank.org/pages/6705/Taxonomy-
Identification.html#:~:text=Taxonomic%20identification%20is%20the%20recognition,referred%20to%20as%20taxonomic%20keys
24. Thompson, C. (2021, February 10). Kingdom Animalia, Plantae And Viruses. Retrieved from Byju's: https://byjus.com/biology/kingdom-
animalia-plantae-and-viruses/
25. Uttarakhand Open University. (n.d.). UNIT 1: CONCEPT OF TAXONOMY. Retrieved from Uttarakhand Open University:
https://www.uou.ac.in/sites/default/files/slm/MSCZO-502.pdfVan Rossum, T., Ferretti, P., Maistrenko, O. M., & Bork, P. (2020). Diversity
within species: interpreting strains in microbiomes. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 18(9), 491-506.
26. Vix. (2022, February 18). Genus - definition and examples - biology online dictionary. Biology Articles, Tutorials & Dictionary Online.
Retrieved September 27, 2022, from https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/genus
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!
DON'T HESITATE TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS!