Like all other living things, microorganisms are placed into a system of classification. Classification highlights characteristics that are common among certain groups while providing order to the variety of living things. The science of classification is known as taxonomy, and taxon is an alternative expression for a classification category. Taxonomy displays the unity and diversity among living things, including microorganisms. Among the first taxonomists was Carolus Linnaeus. In the 1750s and 1760s, Linnaeus classified all known plants and animals of that period and set down the rules for nomenclature.
Classification schemes. The fundamental rank of the classification as set down by Linnaeus is the species. For organisms such as animals and plants, a species is defined as a population of individuals that breed among themselves. For microorganisms, a species is defined as a group of organisms that are 70 percent similar from a biochemical standpoint.
In the classification scheme, various species are grouped together to form a genus. Among the bacteria, for example, the species Shigella boydii and Shigella flexneri are in the genus Shigella because the organisms are at least 70 percent similar. Various genera are then grouped as a family because of similarities, and various families are placed together in an order. Continuing the classification scheme, a number of orders are grouped as a class, and several classes are categorized in a single phylum or division. The various phyla or divisions are placed in the broadest classification entry, the kingdom.
Numerous criteria are used in establishing a species and in placing species together in broader classification categories. Morphology (form) and structure are considered, as well as cellular features, biochemical properties, and genetic characteristics. In addition, the antibodies that an organism elicits in the human body are a defining property. The nutritional format is considered, as are staining characteristics.
Prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Because of their characteristics, microorganisms join all other living organisms in two major groups of organisms: prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Bacteria are prokaryotes (simple organisms having no nucleus or organelles) because of their cellular properties, while other microorganisms such as fungi, protozoa, and unicellular algae are eukaryotes (more complex organisms whose cells have a nucleus and organelles). Viruses are neither prokaryotes nor eukaryotes because of their simplicity and unique characteristics.
The five kingdoms. The generally accepted classification of living things was devised by Robert Whittaker of Cornell University in 1969. Whittaker suggested a five-kingdom classification.
The first of the five kingdoms is Monera (in some books, Prokaryotae). Prokaryotes, such as bacteria and cyanobacteria (formerly, blue-green algae), are in this kingdom; the second kingdom, Protista, includes protozoa, unicellular algae, and slime molds, all of which are eukaryotes and single-celled; in the third kingdom, Fungi, are the molds, mushrooms, and yeasts. These organisms are eukaryotes that absorb simple nutrients from the soil (Figure 1 ). The remaining two kingdoms are Plantae (plants) and Animalia (animals).
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| Figure 1 | The five kingdoms of living things showing the position of microorganisms relative to other organisms. | |
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Brief descriptions of microorganisms. Bacteria are relatively simple, prokaryotic organisms whose cells lack a nucleus or nuclear membrane. The bacteria may appear as rods (bacilli), spheres (cocci), or spirals (spirilla or spirochetes). Bacteria reproduce by binary fission, have unique constituents in their cell walls, and exist in most environments on earth. For instance, they live at temperatures ranging from 0° to 100°C and in conditions that are oxygen rich or oxygen free. A microscope is necessary to see and study them.
Fungi are eukaryotic microorganisms that include multicellular molds and unicellular (single-celled) yeasts. The yeasts are slightly larger than bacteria and are used in alcoholic fermentations and bread making. Certain yeasts such as Candida albicans are pathogenic (disease causing). Molds are filamentous, branched fungi that use spores for reproduction. The fungi prefer acidic environments, and most live at room temperature under oxygen-rich conditions. The common mushroom is a fungus.
Protozoa are eukaryotic, unicellular organisms. Motion is a characteristic associated with many species, and the protozoa can be classified according to how they move: Some protozoa use flagella, others use cilia, and others use pseudopodia. Certain species are nonmotile. Protozoa exist in an infinite variety of shapes because they have no cell walls. Many species cause such human diseases as malaria, sleeping sickness, dysentery, and toxoplasmosis.
The term algae implies a variety of plantlike organisms. In microbiology, several types of single-celled algae are important. Examples are the diatoms and dinoflagellates that inhabit the oceans and are found at the bases of marine food chains. Most algae capture sunlight and transform it to the chemical energy of carbohydrates in the process of photosynthesis.
Viruses are ultramicroscopic bits of genetic material (DNA or RNA) enclosed in a protein shell and, sometimes, a membranous envelope. Viruses have no metabolism; therefore, it is difficult to use drugs to interfere with their structures or activities. Viruses multiply in living cells and use the chemical machinery of the cells for their own purpose. Often, they destroy the cells in the process of replicating.
Nomenclature of microorganisms. The system for naming all living things, established by Linnaeus, is also applied to microorganisms. In this system, all organisms are placed into a classification system, and each organism is given a binomial name. The binomial name consists of two names. The first name is the genus to which the organism belongs. The second name is a modifying adjective called the species modifier.
In writing the binomial name, the first letter of the genus name is capitalized, and the remainder of the genus name and the complete species modifier are written in lowercase letters. The entire binomial name is either italicized or underlined. It can be abbreviated by using the first letter of the genus name and the full species modifier. An example of a microbial name is Escherichia coli, the bacterial rod found in the human intestine. The name is abbreviated E. coli.
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