Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology is the main resource for determining the identity of prokaryotic organisms, emphasizing bacterial species, using every characterizing aspect.
The manual was published subsequent to Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, though the latter is still published as a guide for identifying unknown bacteria.[1] First published in 1923 by David Hendricks Bergey, it is used to classify bacteria based on their structural and functional attributes by arranging them into specific familial orders. However, this process has become more empirical in recent years.[2]
The Taxonomic Outline of Bacteria and Archaea is a derived publication indexing taxon names from version two of the manual.[3] It used to be available for free from the Bergey's manual trust website until September 2018.[4] Michigan State University provides an alternative version that indexes NamesforLife records.[5]
The five-volume BMSB is officially replaced by Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (BMSAB), a continuously-updated online book, since 2015.[6]