Division is a taxonomic rank in biological classification that is used differently in zoology and in botany.
In botany and mycology, division is the traditional name for a rank now considered equivalent to phylum. The use of either term is allowed under the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. [1]
The main Divisions of land plants are the Marchantiophyta (liverworts), Anthocerotophyta (hornworts), Bryophyta (mosses), Filicophyta (ferns), Sphenophyta (horsetails), Cycadophyta (cycads), Ginkgophyta (ginkgo)s, Pinophyta (conifers), Gnetophyta (gnetophytes), and the Magnoliophyta (Angiosperms, flowering plants). The Magnoliophyta now dominate terrestrial ecosystems, comprising 80% of vascular plant species. [2]
In zoology, the term division is applied to an optional rank subordinate to the infraclass and superordinate to the legion and cohort. A widely used classification (e.g. Carroll 1988 [3] ) recognises teleost fishes as a Division Teleostei within Class Actinopterygii (the ray-finned fishes). Less commonly (as in Milner 1988 [4] ), living tetrapods are ranked as Divisions Amphibia and Amniota within the clade of vertebrates with fleshy limbs (Sarcopterygii).
In 1978, a group of botanists including Harold Charles Bold, Arthur Cronquist and Lynn Margulis proposed replacing the term "division" with "phylum" in botanical nomenclature, arguing that maintaining different terms for the same taxonomic rank across biological kingdoms created unnecessary confusion. This was particularly problematic for unicellular eukaryotes, where heterotrophic organisms were classified under zoological nomenclature (using "phylum") while autotrophic organisms fell under botanical nomenclature (using "division"). They proposed updating the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature to use "phylum" and "subphylum" throughout, while maintaining that names originally published as divisions would be treated as if they had been published as phyla. [5]
The use of molecular methods, particularly 16S ribosomal RNA analysis, helped establish major bacterial divisions in the 1980s. In 1985, Carl Woese and colleagues identified ten major groups of eubacteria through oligonucleotide signature analysis, noting that these groupings were "appropriately termed eubacterial Phyla or Divisions." This work provided early molecular evidence for the equivalence of bacterial divisions with phyla and helped establish a phylogenetic basis for high-level bacterial classification. [6]
In 2020, the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) formalised a 15-rank hierarchical classification system, ranging from the highest rank "realm" (rather than domain) down through the lower ranks, notably using "phylum" rather than "division". Under this system, the first viral realm established was Riboviria , encompassing all RNA viruses that encode an RNA-directed RNA polymerase. [7]
In 2021, the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) formally included the rank of phylum for the first time, adopting the suffix "-ota" for phylum names. This led to the publication of names for 46 prokaryotic phyla with cultured representatives, replacing some established names with neologisms – for example, "Proteobacteria" became "Pseudomonadota" and "Firmicutes" became "Bacillota". [8]
In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall.
Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:
In biology, taxonomy is the scientific study of naming, defining (circumscribing) and classifying groups of biological organisms based on shared characteristics. Organisms are grouped into taxa and these groups are given a taxonomic rank; groups of a given rank can be aggregated to form a more inclusive group of higher rank, thus creating a taxonomic hierarchy. The principal ranks in modern use are domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. The Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus is regarded as the founder of the current system of taxonomy, as he developed a ranked system known as Linnaean taxonomy for categorizing organisms and binomial nomenclature for naming organisms.
Carl Richard Woese was an American microbiologist and biophysicist. Woese is famous for defining the Archaea in 1977 through a pioneering phylogenetic taxonomy of 16S ribosomal RNA, a technique that has revolutionized microbiology. He also originated the RNA world hypothesis in 1967, although not by that name. Woese held the Stanley O. Ikenberry Chair and was professor of microbiology at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
In biology, a kingdom is the second highest taxonomic rank, just below domain. Kingdoms are divided into smaller groups called phyla.
Order is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes. An immediately higher rank, superorder, is sometimes added directly above order, with suborder directly beneath order. An order can also be defined as a group of related families.
Virus classification is the process of naming viruses and placing them into a taxonomic system similar to the classification systems used for cellular organisms.
In biology, a taxon is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and given a particular ranking, especially if and when it is accepted or becomes established. It is very common, however, for taxonomists to remain at odds over what belongs to a taxon and the criteria used for inclusion, especially in the context of rank-based ("Linnaean") nomenclature. If a taxon is given a formal scientific name, its use is then governed by one of the nomenclature codes specifying which scientific name is correct for a particular grouping.
The Thermoproteota are prokaryotes that have been classified as a phylum of the domain Archaea. Initially, the Thermoproteota were thought to be sulfur-dependent extremophiles but recent studies have identified characteristic Thermoproteota environmental rRNA indicating the organisms may be the most abundant archaea in the marine environment. Originally, they were separated from the other archaea based on rRNA sequences; other physiological features, such as lack of histones, have supported this division, although some crenarchaea were found to have histones. Until 2005 all cultured Thermoproteota had been thermophilic or hyperthermophilic organisms, some of which have the ability to grow at up to 113 °C. These organisms stain Gram negative and are morphologically diverse, having rod, cocci, filamentous and oddly-shaped cells. Recent evidence shows that some members of the Thermoproteota are methanogens.
The Korarchaeota is a proposed phylum within the Archaea. The name is derived from the Greek noun koros or kore, meaning young man or young woman, and the Greek adjective archaios which means ancient. They are also known as Xenarchaeota. The name is equivalent to Candidatus Korarchaeota, and they go by the name Xenarchaeota or Xenarchaea as well.
Mollicutes is a class of bacteria distinguished by the absence of a cell wall. The word "Mollicutes" is derived from the Latin mollis, and cutis. Individuals are very small, typically only 0.2–0.3 μm in size and have a very small genome size. They vary in form, although most have sterols that make the cell membrane somewhat more rigid. Many are able to move about through gliding, but members of the genus Spiroplasma are helical and move by twisting. The best-known genus in the Mollicutes is Mycoplasma. Colonies show the typical "fried-egg" appearance.
Fibrobacterota is a small bacterial phylum which includes many of the major rumen bacteria, allowing for the degradation of plant-based cellulose in ruminant animals. Members of this phylum were categorized in other phyla. The genus Fibrobacter was removed from the genus Bacteroides in 1988.
Plant taxonomy is the science that finds, identifies, describes, classifies, and names plants. It is one of the main branches of taxonomy.
In biology, taxonomic rank is the relative or absolute level of a group of organisms in a hierarchy that reflects evolutionary relationships. Thus, the most inclusive clades have the highest ranks, whereas the least inclusive ones have the lowest ranks. Ranks can be either relative and be denoted by an indented taxonomy in which the level of indentation reflects the rank, or absolute, in which various terms, such as species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain designate rank. This page emphasizes absolute ranks and the rank-based codes require them. However, absolute ranks are not required in all nomenclatural systems for taxonomists; for instance, the PhyloCode, the code of phylogenetic nomenclature, does not require absolute ranks.
Monera is historically a biological kingdom that is made up of prokaryotes. As such, it is composed of single-celled organisms that lack a nucleus.
In biology, a phylum is a level of classification or taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. Traditionally, in botany the term division has been used instead of phylum, although the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants accepts the terms as equivalent. Depending on definitions, the animal kingdom Animalia contains about 31 phyla, the plant kingdom Plantae contains about 14 phyla, and the fungus kingdom Fungi contains about eight phyla. Current research in phylogenetics is uncovering the relationships among phyla within larger clades like Ecdysozoa and Embryophyta.
Bacterial phyla constitute the major lineages of the domain Bacteria. While the exact definition of a bacterial phylum is debated, a popular definition is that a bacterial phylum is a monophyletic lineage of bacteria whose 16S rRNA genes share a pairwise sequence identity of ~75% or less with those of the members of other bacterial phyla.
Bacterial taxonomy is subfield of taxonomy devoted to the classification of bacteria specimens into taxonomic ranks. Archaeal taxonomy are governed by the same rules.
There are several models of the Branching order of bacterial phyla, one of these was proposed in 1987 paper by Carl Woese.
The initial version of a classification system of life by British zoologist Thomas Cavalier-Smith appeared in 1978. This initial system continued to be modified in subsequent versions that were published until he died in 2021. As with classifications of others, such as Carl Linnaeus, Ernst Haeckel, Robert Whittaker, and Carl Woese, Cavalier-Smith's classification attempts to incorporate the latest developments in taxonomy., Cavalier-Smith used his classifications to convey his opinions about the evolutionary relationships among various organisms, principally microbial. His classifications complemented his ideas communicated in scientific publications, talks, and diagrams. Different iterations might have a wider or narrow scope, include different groupings, provide greater or lesser detail, and place groups in different arrangements as his thinking changed. His classifications has been a major influence in the modern taxonomy, particularly of protists.