The Microbe: The Basics of Structure, Morphology, and Physiology as They Relate to Microbial Characterization and Attribution

This chapter is meant to (1) review classical methods used to characterize and classify microbes and (2) introduce new molecular methods used in microbial characterization. The fundamental composition of microbes is discussed as well as their importance in classifi cation of microbes into genus and species. Classical microbiological methods in general seek to defi ne the common features of specifi c bacterial groups as a means of classifi cation and identifi cation of microbes. Thus, the focus was to describe the common features which discriminated closely related groups of organisms. In contrast, the newer molecular methods often seek to expand the classifi cation of microbes not only as a means to organize microbial phylogeny but also to differentiate signatures between microbes identifi ed within a species in greater detail. Molecular biology tools are used both as an adjunct to established methods and as replacement for classical methods for detection, discrimination, or identifi cation of bacterial and viral species.