CLASSIFICATION OF BACTERIA

Objectives
 At the end of this lesson; students will be
able to:
 Describe approaches to bacterial taxonomy
 Explain the binomial nomenclature of
bacteria
 Describe basic morphologic classification of
bacteria
Outline
 Definition of Terms
 Classification of Bacteria
 Approaches to Taxonomy
 Morphology of bacteria
Taxonomy
 The science of classification of organisms
 It includes
Classification
Identification
Nomenclature
Classification
 The orderly arrangement of bacteria into
groups
 Systematic grouping of bacteria based on
similarities and differences
 Nothing is inherently scientific about
classification
Identification
 The practical use of classification criteria to
distinguish certain organisms from others
 It is done to isolate unknown species from
clinical samples
Nomenclature
 The means by which the characteristics of a
species are defined and communicated
 A species name should mean the same thing
to all microbiologists
Species
 A distinct organism with certain characteristic
features
 A group of organisms that resemble one
another closely in the most important
features
Approaches to Taxonomy
 Numerical Approach
 Phylogenetic Approach
 Polyphasic Approach
Numerical Approach
 Phenotypic characteristics are used
 Coefficient of similarity or percentage of
similarity between strains is calculated
Figure :1.Example of dendogram
Phylogenetic Approach
 Genome size
 Guanine - plus cytosine (G+C) content
 DNA relatedness under conditions optimal
for DNA re-association
 Thermal stability of related DNA sequences
 DNA relatedness under conditions of supra-
optimal for DNA re-association
Polyphasic Approach
 Takes into account all available phenotypic
and genotypic data
 Phenotypic grouping of strains by
morphological, biochemical and other
characteristics
 The phenotypic groups are then tested for
DNA relatedness
Fig. Bacterial identification
Phenotypic Characteristics
 Morphologic Characteristics
 Growth Characteristics
 Serology
 Phage typing
 Biochemical
 Physiology
Below species level
 Strains are designated as groups or types
on the basis of:
Common serologic or
Biochemical reactions
phage or bacteriocin sensitivity
Pathogenicity
Below species level……
 Serotype
 Phage type
 Colicin type
 Biotype
 Bio-serotype
 Patho-type
Morphology
 There are there basic shapes:
Spherical or cocci
Rods or bacilli
Spirals or spirilla
Morphology cont’d
 Arrangement of cocci
Micrococcus
Diplococci
Strepto cocci
Staphylococci
Tetrads
Octads (sarcina)
Summary
 Define taxonomy, identification,
nomenclature and species
 List and explain approaches to taxonomy
 Describe morphology of bacteria