MCB 101 Flashcards
What is the origin of the word ‘taxonomy’?
Derived from Greek words ‘taxis’ (arrangement or order) and ‘nomos’ (law)
What is the science of classifying organisms called?
Taxonomy
What does taxonomy provide for organisms?
Universal names and reference for identifying organisms
What are the three components of taxonomy?
- Classification
- Nomenclature
- Identification
What is a scientific name?
A name given by the scientist who first discovered and published it
What is the binomial nomenclature?
A naming system that uses two terms: genus and specific epithet
How is a scientific name formatted?
Written in italic and in Latinized form
What regulates the naming of bacteria?
International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes
What are the two parts of a scientific name?
- Genus name
- Specific epithet
What does the superscript ‘T’ denote in Escherichia coli DSM 30083T?
The strain is a type strain
What is artificial classification?
Classification based on few and trivial characteristics
What is phylogeny?
The evolutionary history of a group of genetically related species
What does numerical taxonomy involve?
Grouping taxonomic units by numerical methods based on character states
What is the simple matching coefficient?
The proportion of characteristics that match regardless of presence or absence
What is a dendrogram?
A tree-like diagram summarizing results of numerical taxonomic analysis
What is polyphasic taxonomy?
Consensus type of taxonomy that uses all available data to delineate groups
What is the prerequisite for the polyphasic approach?
The isolate must be a pure culture
Where must novel isolates be published to be recognized as new species?
International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Fill in the blank: The taxonomic hierarchy is composed of ______ groups.
8
True or False: In the taxonomic hierarchy of Domain Bacteria, there is an assigned Kingdom.
False
What are four sources for creating scientific names?
- Scientist’s name
- Observable characteristics
- Geographic location
- Organizations
What is the role of the BLAST search in polyphasic taxonomy?
To compare sequencing results with existing databases
What does the Jaccard Coefficient ignore in its calculations?
Characteristics that are absent for both strains
