1. What are the three main purposes of taxonomy? 2. How we define the term 3. Wh

Question

1. What are the three main purposes of taxonomy? 2. How we define the term 3. What groups of living things do we include in the group called "microorganisms"? 4. If I gave you a microorganism to identify, what characteristics would you use to place them in one of the groups you included in the answer to questions 3? 5. Name at least three ways in which bacteria are useful to us. 6. What is "biogeochemical recycling"? Explain the roles played by bacteria and fungi in this process. 7. What would happen to this planet if all microorganisms became extinet? 8. Recent research has discovered that there is a kind of protein, called a "prion", which can actually reproduce, but, more importantly, it can cause disease. Prions are naked protein strands that lack nucleic acids entirely. Would you consider these microorganisms? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWER IN LIGHT OF HOW WE HAVE DEFINED "LIFE" Dr. Betty Borowsky 9-12 6/2009-9 TAXONOMY&MICROORGANISMS; 4

Explanation / Answer

1) Objectives of Taxonomy:

Taxonomy aims at fulfilling three main objectives:

1. Firstly, taxonomy aims at classifying organisms into taxa on the basis of similarities in phenotypic (phenetic) characteristics i.e. the characteristics which are expressed in an organism and can be examined visually or can be tested by other means.

2. The second objective of taxonomy is to assign each taxon a name. This naming of a taxon is known as nomenclature. Assigning a name to an organism is necessary for identifying it without confusion throughout the scientific world. Therefore, nomenclature needs to be made following certain internationally accepted rules. (binomial nomenclature).

3. The third objective of taxonomy is to serve as an instrument for identification of bacteria. A newly isolated organism can be assorted to its nearest allies or can be identified as a new hitherto unknown taxon. This makes taxonomy a dynamic branch of biology, because discovery of new organisms constantly demands changes in the existing classification.

2) Microorganisms (Gk: micros: small; organisms: organisms) or microbes are living forms, whose size is so small that they are usually not visible to naked human eye.

3) Microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, protozoa, microscopic fungi and algae.

4) If the microorganism given is a virus it has the following characteristics:

Viruses are ultra-microscopic, non-cellular living particles, composed solely of a nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) core, surrounded by a protein envelope called capsid.

5) Some of them are very helpful, for example, those which fix atmospheric nitrogen into biologically useful forms, those which help in curd formation, those which recycle dead materials by degrading them into simpler substances and those which help in preparation of wine

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