TY - JOUR
T1 - Advanced prokaryotic systematics
T2 - the modern face of an ancient science
AU - Nouioui, Imen
AU - Sangal, Vartul
N1 - We dedicate this article to all prokaryotic systematists for their efforts to identify and characterise novel taxa and their contribution to progress the discipline. We also take this opportunity to thank Prof Michael Goodfellow and Prof Hans-Peter Klenk, two pioneer scientists who guided our work in prokaryotic systematics.
PY - 2022/11/17
Y1 - 2022/11/17
N2 - Prokaryotic systematics is one of the most progressive disciplines that has embraced technological advances over the last century. The availability and affordability of new sequencing technologies and user-friendly software have revolutionised the discovery of novel prokaryotic taxa, including the identification and nomenclature of uncultivable microorganisms. These advances have enabled scientists to resolve the structure of complex heterogenous taxon and to rectify taxonomic status of misclassified strains due to errors associated with the sensitivity and/or reproducibility of phenotypic approaches. Time- and labour-intensive experimental characterisation of strains could be replaced with determining the presence or absence of genes or operons responsible for phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties, such as the presence of mycolic acids and menaquinones. However, the quality of genomic data must be acceptable and phylogenomic threshold values for interspecies and supraspecies delineation should be carefully considered in combination of genome-based phylogeny for a reliable and robust classification. These technological developments have empowered prokaryotic systematists to reliably identify novel taxa with an understanding of community ecology and their biosynthetic and biodegradation potentials.
AB - Prokaryotic systematics is one of the most progressive disciplines that has embraced technological advances over the last century. The availability and affordability of new sequencing technologies and user-friendly software have revolutionised the discovery of novel prokaryotic taxa, including the identification and nomenclature of uncultivable microorganisms. These advances have enabled scientists to resolve the structure of complex heterogenous taxon and to rectify taxonomic status of misclassified strains due to errors associated with the sensitivity and/or reproducibility of phenotypic approaches. Time- and labour-intensive experimental characterisation of strains could be replaced with determining the presence or absence of genes or operons responsible for phenotypic and chemotaxonomic properties, such as the presence of mycolic acids and menaquinones. However, the quality of genomic data must be acceptable and phylogenomic threshold values for interspecies and supraspecies delineation should be carefully considered in combination of genome-based phylogeny for a reliable and robust classification. These technological developments have empowered prokaryotic systematists to reliably identify novel taxa with an understanding of community ecology and their biosynthetic and biodegradation potentials.
KW - Average amino acid identity
KW - average nucleotide identity
KW - digital DNA-DNA hybridisation
KW - Next generation sequencing
KW - percentage of conserved proteins
KW - phylogenomic analyses
KW - prokaryotic systematics
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85142156977&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101036
DO - 10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101036
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85142156977
SN - 2052-2975
VL - 49-50
JO - New Microbes and New Infections
JF - New Microbes and New Infections
M1 - 101036
ER -