1-3: Naming and Classifying Microbes Flashcards
What is taxonomy
Science of classifying/naming organisms
What is phylogeny
Study of evolutionary relationships between organisms
How do taxonomists make classifications
Use genotype, phenotype and phylogenetic info
What is the order of taxa
Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
What did Carl Linnaeus do
System for classification
Each organism has two names: genus & species
Where are scientific names of microbes derived from?
Latin
Characteristics
Scientists
Physical properties/appearance
How are genus and species written?
Genus capitalized, species not. Both are italicized (or underlined in handwriting)
How are higher taxa written?
Not italicized, but captialized
What is a biovar and serovar
Biovar: group based on physiological/biochemical difference from other species members
Serovar: group based on surface antigens
What is a “strain”
Used to refer to specific isolate, genetic variant or subtype. Eg. STEC (Shiga toxin producing E. coli)
Why is taxonomy important
eg. By identifying a new bacteria that falls into the Salmonella genus, we can make predictions about virulence, metabolism etc.
What is the best DNA sequence to observe?
Highly conserved gene with conserved function that accumulates mutations slowly over time
What is a sequence commonly used to determine phylogenetic relationships
Ribosomal RNA of the small subunit (SSU)
What regions are useful for identifying relationships? What are useful for PCR?
Variable - useful for identifying relationships
Conserved - useful for PCR (needed a known region for amplification)
Who developed SSU rRNA sequencing?
Carl Woese and George Fox in the 1970s
