Taxonomy is an organizing principle of biology and is ideally based on evolutionary relationships among organisms. Development of a robust bacterial taxonomy has been hindered by an inability to ...

The traditional three domains of taxonomy are: Eukarya, which contains animals, plants, fungi and almost all multicellular life. Bacteria, which is a vast group of mainly single-celled organisms.

Escherichia coli bacteria, commonly called E. coli, can transfer at least one of these gene-containing plasmids to organisms across taxonomic kingdoms, including to fungi and protists.

Scientists from the European research project Micro4Biogas have discovered and characterized a new taxonomic order of bacteria which specialize in the decomposition of organic matter and could hold ...