Classification of Microorganisms

Before the existence of microbes was known, all organisms

were grouped into either the animal kingdom or the plant
kingdom.

When microscopic organisms with characteristics of animals
and plants were discovered late in the seventeenth century,
a new system of classification was needed. Still, biologists
could not agree on the criteria for classifying these new
organisms until the late 1970s.
At the beginning :
there are two kingdoms
- Monera
- Protista
Earlier classification :
Monera is oldest (earliest cell), prokaryotic
& structurally simple cell
Protista is youngest (latest cell), eukaryotic
& more structurally complex cell
The Protista developed to four
kingdom : Protista, Fungi, plantae
and animalia
Table 10.2
In 1978, Carl Woese devised a system of classification based
on the cellular organization of organisms. It groups all
organisms in three domains as follows:

1. Bacteria (cell walls contain a proteincarbohydrate
complex called peptidoglycan)
2. Archaea (cell walls, if present, lack peptidoglycan)
3. Eukarya, which includes the following:
Protists (slime molds, protozoa, and algae)
Fungi (unicellular yeasts, multicellular molds, and
mushrooms)
Plants (mosses, ferns, conifers, and flowering plants)
Animals (sponges, worms, insects, and vertebrates
The Three-Domain System
Figure 10.1
Euryarchaeota
Crenarchaeo
ta
Korarchaeota
Domains Archaea
In the late 1970s, a distinctive type of prokaryotic cell was
discovered. Most strikingly, the cell walls of these
prokaryotes lacked the peptidoglycan common to most
bacteria. It soon became clear that they also shared many
rRNA sequences, and the sequences were different from
either those of the Domain Bacteria or the eukaryotic
organisms. These differences were so significant that these
organisms now constitute a new taxonomic grouping, the
Domain Archaea.
Bacteria and Archaea
Bacteria and Archaea are both prokaryotes and
their DNA is arranged in circular structures called
plasmids (they have no nucleus and the DNA is not
arranged in chromosomes). Prokaryote derived
from the Greek Pro meaning before and karyon
meaning a kernel [i.e. a nucleus].

However, they have substantial differences in their
biochemistry, cell wall structure and other
molecular details.
Bacteria vs. Archaea
Bacteria are inhibited by antibiotics Streptomycin
and Chloramphenicol but Archaea are not.

Archaea in common with Eukarya have histone
proteins associated with their DNA, have introns
in their DNA, and have several kinds of RNA
polymerase. Bacteria lack these features.
Domain Bacteria
Includes most of the bacteria people are familiar
with including disease-causing species
(Salmonella; Vibrio cholerae which causes
cholera), nitrogen-fixing (Nitrosomonas) and
parasites (Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme
disease).
Bacteria play a major role in decomposition and
many live symbiotically with other organisms
including humans helping to break down or
synthesize foods needed by the host.

contain unique genetic sequences in their rRNA
seem more closely related to Domain Eukarya than to
bacteria
have unique membrane lipids & cell wall construction
live in the most extreme habitats in nature,
extremophiles
adapted to heat salt acid pH, pressure & atmosphere
includes: methane producers, hyperthermophiles,
extreme halophiles, and sulfur reducers
Domain Archaea
Figure 11.27 Archaea. Pyrodictium abyssi, an unusual member of
the archaea found growing in deep-ocean sediment at a
temperature of 110C. The cells are disk-shaped with a
network of tubules (cannulae). Most archaea are more
conventional in their morphology.
The Three-Domain System
Table 10.1
Phyllogenetic tree of archaea
Phylum/Class Order Important Genera Special
Features

DOMAIN ARCHAEA

Crenarchaeota (Gram-Negative)
Desulfurococcales Pryidictium Hyperthermophiles
Sulfolobales Sulfolobus Hyperthermophiles

Euryarchaeota (Gram-Positive to Variable)
Methanobacteriales Methanobacterium Methanogens
Halobacteriales Halobacterium Require high salt
concentration
Halococcus Require high salt
concentration



Phyllogenetic and Metabolic diversity of archaea
A.
B.
for your kind attention
Sahara desert
Life in the extremes
Yellowstone National park
Lake Magadi, Tansania
Yellowstone National Park
Postulated Mars-Biosphere
Mars from Pathfinder
Liquid water only in deep subsurface regions
Life either extinct or in subsurface niches:

ANTARCTICA, 1984