Microbiology For Dummies
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To keep the many organisms on earth straight, in the 18th century the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus developed a simple nomenclature system to classify and name all organisms including bacteria. This system ranks all organisms using the following headings, shown with the example of the bacterium E. coli.

Domain: Bacteria

Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Gammaproteobacteria

Order: Enterobacteriales (Order names always end in –iales.)

Family: Enterobacteriaceae (Family names always end in –aceae.)

Genus: Escherichia

Species: coli

Organisms are uniquely identified by the genus and species names, which are always either italicized or underlined, the genus is often shortened to the first letter (for example, E. coli).

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Jennifer C. Stearns, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. She studies how we get our gut microbiome in early life and how it can keep us healthy over time. Michael G. Surette, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University, where he pushes the boundaries of microbial research. Julienne C. Kaiser, PhD, is a doctoral career educator.

Jennifer C. Stearns, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University. She studies how we get our gut microbiome in early life and how it can keep us healthy over time. Michael G. Surette, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at McMaster University, where he pushes the boundaries of microbial research. Julienne C. Kaiser, PhD, is a doctoral career educator.

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