Prokaryotic systematic

Through definition each prokaryotic species must be included in a genus. A genus is theoretically a member of successively higher ranks that are: tribe, subtribe, family, subfamily, suborder, order, subclass, class, division or phylum and domain or empire.

                                                                           Figure:Prokaryotic systematic

As an essential and basic biological discipline prokaryotic systematics is incoming the era of genomics. These developments give an opportunity and a challenge for systematists to reanalyze the molecular mechanisms underlying the taxonomic characteristics of prokaryotes through drawing the knowledge from studies of genomics and/or functional genomics employing platform methods and associated bioinformatics tools.  Paradigmatic shift is significant not only for understanding molecular phylogeny at the whole genome level but also in revealing the genetic or epigenetic basis that accounts for the phenotypic criteria used to identify and classify species. It is expected that taxonomic books like as Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology may evolve into a systematics library indexed through phylogenomic information with a comprehensive understanding of prokaryotic speciation and realted increasing knowledge of biological phenomena.