THE RELATIONSHIP OF IDENTIFICATION TO BACTERIAL CLASSIFICATION AND NOMENCLATURE. In order to identify an unknown bacterial isolate, the characteristics of the isolate must be compared to known taxa. In microbiology, the basic taxonomic unit is the species, and groups of related species are placed in the same genus.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria normally live in the intestines of people and animals. Most E. coli are harmless and actually are an important part of a healthy human intestinal tract.
