The first thing you'll need to do is determine your unknown's group number. To do that, you will need to consult Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (9th edition). To find your group number, look through the table of contents of the manual, and use the table that starts on page 17. Most unknowns will be in one of these groups:
- Gram-Negative, Aerobic/Microaerophilic Rods and Cocci --Group 4
- Facultatively Anaerobic Gram-Negative Rods --Group 5
- Gram-Positive Cocci --Group 17
- Endospore-Forming Gram-Positive Rods and Cocci --Group 18
- Regular, Nonsporing Gram-Positive Rods --Group 19
- Irregular, Nonsporing Gram-Positive Rods --Group 20
- Aerobic, Nonmotile, Nonsporing, Acid-fast, Weakly Gram-Positive Rods --Group 21
- Bergey's Manual Trust was established in 1936 to sustain the publication of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology and supplementary reference works. The Trust also recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to bacterial taxonomy by presentation of the Bergey Award and Bergey Medal, jointly supported by funds from the Trust and from Springer, the publishers of the.
- The organization of Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology makes it impractical for helping place unknown bacteria into major taxa, BUT it contains far more detail on the families, genera, and species and is far more up to date than the Determinative manual.
BERGEY'S MANUAL® OF Systematic Bacteriology Second Edition Volume One The Archaeaand the Deeply Branching and Phototrophic Bacteria David R. Boone Richard W. Castenholz EDITORS, VOLUME ONE George M. Garrity EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITORIAL BOARD James T. Staley, Chairman, David R. Boone, Vice Chairman.
Once you think you know your group number (or you have a few possibilities) go to the pages for your group within the manual. From there, you should find more information to help you make a final determination that you have the right group. You might also consult the information below to help you find the best tables to make a final determination about your unknown's group number:
Group # | Table to reference in Bergey’s Determinative, 9th edition | Key differences between genera in this group, as described in the Bio 205L manual |
4 | Table 4.1, pp. 103-116 | pigments/fluorescent, motility, growth requirements, denitrification, morphology, oxidase |
5 | Table 5.1, pg. 202 | growth factors, morphology, gram reaction, oxidase |
17 | Aerobic genera: Table 17.1, pg 534 Facultatively anaerobic genera: Table 17.2, pg. 535-536 Strictly anaerobic genera: Table 17.3, pg. 537 | oxygen requirements, morphology, growth requirements (45°C and supplements) |
18 | Table 18.1, pg. 562 | oxygen requirements, motility, morphology, catalase |
19 | Table 19.1, pg. 568 | morphology, oxygen requirements, catalase |
20 | Aerobic genera: Table 20.1, pg. 583-584 Facultatively anaerobic genera: Table 20.2, pg. 585-586 Strictly anaerobic genera: Table 20.3, pg. 587-588 | catalase, motility, morphology |
21 | Table 21.1, pg 598 | acid fast, growth |
Step 2: Determine the genus of your unknown.
To determine the genus of your unknown, you'll need to keep using Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (9th edition). You should have the right group number by now, so go to the pages for your group. These pages should help you identify the genus of your unknown. There might be both tables and descriptions to help you identify the genus. You might find more than one possible match -- that's ok. The next step should provide more information to help you narrow down to a final choice.
Step 3. Read about your genus to make sure you have a match.
Step 4. Identify your unknown to the species level.
The genus description should contain information that helps you differentiate the species in your genus – so, you can compare your lab results to attempt to identify the species of your unknown. Be sure to read both the genus and the species descriptions, because characteristics listed in the genus description aren’t repeated in the species description!
Step 5. Troubleshoot problems.
If you find that the tables in Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th edition only allowed you to identify your bacteria down to the family level, then search the Systematic manual (link provided above) for your family name to see if the family description contains the tables you need to narrow down from family to genus. If the Systematic manual DOESN’T contain the tables you need, then you’ll have to come to the Main Desk at Cline Library and to once again consult Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th edition. Look up your family name in the index of the Determinative manual to see if there are tables you need that you previously missed.
Also keep in mind that sometimes a taxonomic name can be declared a synonym of another name, and thus is no longer used. Try looking your name up in either of these two resources:
If you find that another name is being used, look that name up in Bergey's instead. For example, the genus name Aurobacterium has been synonomized with Microbacterium, so you'd look up Microbacteriuminstead
Adapted from Nothern Arizona University LibGuide URL:https://libraryguides.nau.edu/bio205l-305w
The first thing you'll need to do is determine your unknown's group number. To do that, you will need to consult Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (9th edition). To find your group number, look through the table of contents of the manual, and use the table that starts on page 17. Most unknowns will be in one of these groups:
- Gram-Negative, Aerobic/Microaerophilic Rods and Cocci --Group 4
- Facultatively Anaerobic Gram-Negative Rods --Group 5
- Gram-Positive Cocci --Group 17
- Endospore-Forming Gram-Positive Rods and Cocci --Group 18
- Regular, Nonsporing Gram-Positive Rods --Group 19
- Irregular, Nonsporing Gram-Positive Rods --Group 20
- Aerobic, Nonmotile, Nonsporing, Acid-fast, Weakly Gram-Positive Rods --Group 21
Once you think you know your group number (or you have a few possibilities) go to the pages for your group within the manual. From there, you should find more information to help you make a final determination that you have the right group. You might also consult the information below to help you find the best tables to make a final determination about your unknown's group number:
Group # | Table to reference in Bergey’s Determinative, 9th edition | Key differences between genera in this group, as described in the Bio 205L manual |
4 | Table 4.1, pp. 103-116 | pigments/fluorescent, motility, growth requirements, denitrification, morphology, oxidase |
5 | Table 5.1, pg. 202 | growth factors, morphology, gram reaction, oxidase |
17 | Aerobic genera: Table 17.1, pg 534 Facultatively anaerobic genera: Table 17.2, pg. 535-536 Strictly anaerobic genera: Table 17.3, pg. 537 | oxygen requirements, morphology, growth requirements (45°C and supplements) |
18 | Table 18.1, pg. 562 | oxygen requirements, motility, morphology, catalase |
19 | Table 19.1, pg. 568 | morphology, oxygen requirements, catalase |
20 | Aerobic genera: Table 20.1, pg. 583-584 Facultatively anaerobic genera: Table 20.2, pg. 585-586 Strictly anaerobic genera: Table 20.3, pg. 587-588 | catalase, motility, morphology |
21 | Table 21.1, pg 598 | acid fast, growth |
Step 2: Determine the genus of your unknown.
To determine the genus of your unknown, you'll need to keep using Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology (9th edition). You should have the right group number by now, so go to the pages for your group. These pages should help you identify the genus of your unknown. There might be both tables and descriptions to help you identify the genus. You might find more than one possible match -- that's ok. The next step should provide more information to help you narrow down to a final choice.
Step 3. Read about your genus to make sure you have a match.
Step 4. Identify your unknown to the species level.
Bergey Manual Of Systematic Bacteriology Flowchart 2
The genus description should contain information that helps you differentiate the species in your genus – so, you can compare your lab results to attempt to identify the species of your unknown. Be sure to read both the genus and the species descriptions, because characteristics listed in the genus description aren’t repeated in the species description!
Bergey Manual Of Systematic Bacteriology Flowchart Pdf
Step 5. Troubleshoot problems.
If you find that the tables in Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th edition only allowed you to identify your bacteria down to the family level, then search the Systematic manual (link provided above) for your family name to see if the family description contains the tables you need to narrow down from family to genus. If the Systematic manual DOESN’T contain the tables you need, then you’ll have to come to the Main Desk at Cline Library and to once again consult Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th edition. Look up your family name in the index of the Determinative manual to see if there are tables you need that you previously missed.
Also keep in mind that sometimes a taxonomic name can be declared a synonym of another name, and thus is no longer used. Try looking your name up in either of these two resources:
If you find that another name is being used, look that name up in Bergey's instead. For example, the genus name Aurobacterium has been synonomized with Microbacterium, so you'd look up Microbacteriuminstead
Adapted from Nothern Arizona University LibGuide URL:https://libraryguides.nau.edu/bio205l-305w