Using The Prokaryotes

Introduction to The Prokaryotes

Located near the computers on the top floor of the Chemistry library and available online as an electronic book, The Prokaryotes is a resource which will allow you to find information about a wide range of bacteria - each chapter in The Prokaryotes covers one genus of bacteria. These chapters cover taxonomy, habitat, pathogenicity, isolation techniques, and identifying properties. There are four print volumes of The Prokaryotes in the Chemistry library and the most recent online version has seven volumes.

If you need assistance in using these volumes, contact the Biology librarian Tom Harrod (tharrod@umd.edu, (301)405-7253, Chemistry Library rm. 1526A)

Using The Prokaryotes (Online)

To find your bacteria using he online version of The Prokaryotes, there are several options:

• Find Function - Once you have decided which of the 7 volumes contains your bacteria (each is labeled with the major division(s) of prokaryote contained in that volume) - open that volume of the series and there you will see a "Find" search box on the upper right side of the page, change the search option to "Within this book" and then type in your prokaryote of interest and it will find where that organism is mentioned in that volume

  Note: Do not use the "Find" search function on the main page for The Prokaryotes e-book as this will not search within the 7 volumes of The Prokaryotes



• Table of Contents & Index - the online version contains a pdf of the Contents section of the book as well as the Index and so bacteria can be looked up in exactly the same way as with the print version (see below under "Using The Prokaryotes (Print)" for more details)

Using The Prokaryotes (Print)

There are two ways to use the print version:

• Table of Contents - once you know the genus of the prokaryote that you are looking for, look for it in the Contents section at the front of the book. In these volumes, they are divided broadly into Archaea and Bacteria. Archaea take up about 100 pages of the first volume while Bacteria make up about 3.5 volumes in the series. Bacteria are further broken down into Divisions and Subdivisions, for example if I wanted to find Pseudonocardia thermohila I would do the following:
  1. Look in Part IV: Bacteria
  2. Next go to Division A: Firmicutes (Gram-positive Bacteria)
  3. Then look under Subdivision A1: Firmicutes with high GC Content of DNA
  4. Within that category, you will find Chapter 42: The Family Pseudonocardiaceae


• Index - alternatively you can look up your bacteria of interest in the index at the back of the book - this will give you several page numbers on which this bacteria is mentioned.

Before using The Prokaryotes, please note the following:

• Be considerate of other students and do not remove the manuals from the top floor of the library
• Return them to their proper shelf when you are done

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