Nomenclature and Classification of

Microorganisms
 What is nomenclature
Definition
Nomenclature is a system of names or terms,
or the rules for forming these terms in a
particular field of arts or sciences.

The devising or choosing of names for things,

especially in a science or other discipline.
 Nomenclature of Microorganisms

• The Greek philosopher Aristotle attempted to

classify all living things as either Plant or
Animal.
 Carl Linnaeus

• He developed his naming system in the

middle 1700’s, which is essentially the same
one we use today.
Today, microorganism names originate
from four different sources

• 1. Descriptive
• 2. Scientist’s names
• 3. Geographic places
• 4. Organizations
 1. Descriptive

• For example Staphylococcus aureus (grape-

like cluster of spheres, golden in color),
Streptococcus viridans (chains of spheres,
green in colony color), Helicobacter pylori
(spiral shaped rod at the entrance to the
duodenum)
 2. Scientist’s names

Escherichia coli (Theodor Esherich), Erlichia

(Paul Erlich), Nessieria (Albert Neisser),
Listeria (Joseph Lister), Pasturella (Louis
Pasteur), Yersinia (Alexandre Yersin),
Bartonella (Alberto Barton), Morganella (H.
de R. Morgan)
Theodor Esherich
 3. Geographic places
• Legionella longbeachiae (Long Beach,
California), Pasturella tularensis (Tulare
County, California), Pseudomonas
fairmontensis (Fairmount Park, Pennsylvania),
Mycobacterium genavense (Geneva,
Switzerland), Blastomyces brasiliensis (Brazil),
Providencia spp. (Brown University,
Providence)
 4. Organizations

• Legionella (American Legion), Afipia felis (Air

Force Institute of Pathology), Cedecea spp.
(Centers for Disease Control).
 Taxonomy

• Taxonomy (from Ancient Greek: taxis,

"arrangement," and nomia, "method") is
the science of defining groups of
biological organisms on the basis of shared
characteristics and giving names to those
groups.
• The tree of life consists of three
domains: Archaea , Bacteria, and
Eukaryota. The first two are
all prokaryotic microorganisms, or single-
celled organisms whose cells have no nucleus.
All life that has a nucleus and membrane-
bound organelles, and most multi-cellular life,
is included in the Eukaryota.
• Traditionally, textbooks from the United
States used a system of six kingdoms
(Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, Archaea/Ar
chaeabacteria, and Bacteria/Eubacteria) while
textbooks in Great Britain, India, Australia,
Latin America and other countries used five
kingdoms (Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista
and Monera).
• The kingdom Animalia contains approximately
35 phyla, Plantae contains 12,
and Fungi contains 7
 Taxonomy
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus ( generic name)
• Species ( specific name)
• For example, the bacteria used in yogurt
production ( Lactobacillus delbrueckii) would
be classified as follows…
• Kingdom: Bacteria
• Phylum: Firmicutes
• Class: Bacilli
• Order: Lactobacillales
• Family: Lactobacillaceae
• Genus: Lactobacillus
• Species: L. delbrueckii
Rules of Nomenclature
 1. Use Binary Names

• Binary names (invented by Linnaeus),

consisting of a generic name and a species
epithet (e.g., Escherichia coli), must be used
for all microorganisms.
 2. When to Capitalize

• The genus name is always capitalized, the

species name is never capitalized, e.g. Bacillus
anthracis
 3. When to Italicize
• The names of higher taxonomic levels (family,
order, class, phylum or division, and kingdom)
should be capitalized but not italicized
• Use both genus and species name
• Italicize the whole name.
• Capitalize only the genus name.
• Only the generic name and the specie name are
italicized. From family on up, you use Roman
type.
 4. When to use Initials
• A specific epithet must be preceded by a
generic name, written out in full the first time
it is used in a paper. Thereafter, the generic
name should be abbreviated to the initial
capital letter (e.g., E. coli), provided there can
be no confusion with other genera used in the
paper. Be careful with the “S” words;
Salmonella, Shigella, Serratia, Staphylococcus,
Streptococcus, etc.
 5. Subspecies and Serovars
• A group of closely related microorganisms distinguishe
d by a characteristic set of antigens. Also called seroty
pe.
• Serovars (or serotypes):
A subdivision of a species or subspecies distinguishable
from other strains therein on the basis of antigenicity.
• Serovars (or serotypes) are those strains that
have antigenic properties that differ from other strains.
• Serotype or serovar are distinct variations within a
species of bacteria or viruses or among immune cells
of different individuals.
• For Salmonella, genus, species, and subspecies
names should be rendered in standard form:
Salmonella enterica at first use, S. enterica
thereafter; Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae at
first use, S. enterica subsp. arizonae thereafter.
• Names of serovars should be in roman type with
the first letter capitalized: Salmonella enterica
serovar Typhimurium. After the first use, the
serovar may also be given without a species
name: Salmonella serovar Typhimurium.
 7. Abbreviations for Species
• use “sp.” for a particular species, “spp.” for
several species (“spp” stands for “species
plural”). These abbreviations are not italicized;
e.g. Clostridium sp. or Clostridium spp.
 8. Plural Forms
• Plural of genus is genera
• Plural of species (sp.) is species (spp.)
• Plural of medium is media
• Plural of fungus is fungi
• Plural of streptococcus is streptococci (staphylococcus -
staphylococci; enterococcus - enterococci, etc)
• Plural of bacillus is bacilli
• Plural of bacterium is bacteria
• Plural of alga is algae
• Plural of protozoan is protozoa
 CLASSIFICATION OF
MICROORGANISMS
• 5 main classes of microorganisms
– Bacteria
– Protozoa
– Fungi
– Algae
– Viruses
 Classification of Protozoa
• Protozoa have been divided traditionally on
the basis of their means of locomotion.
• Flagellates (e.g., Giardia lamblia)
• Amoeboids (e.g., Entamoeba histolytica)
• Sporozoans (e.g., Plasmodium knowlesi)
• Ciliates (e.g., Balantidium coli)
Classification of fungus
Classification of Algae
 Classification of Viruses

• Currently, two main schemes are used for the

classification of viruses: the International
Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV)
system and Baltimore classification system,
which places viruses into one of seven groups
Baltimore classification