JIB 431/4: BIOSYSTEMATIC (ASSIGNMENT 1)

Discuss the implications and impact of plant taxonomy to human society.

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BOTANICAL N ZOOLOGICAL PART

MAX : 5 PAGES
Internet ?
1. biology studies
2. Agriculture
3. Biodiversity conservation
4. Medical
5. Genetic variability
6. Veterinary
7. Pharmaceutical
8. Food industry

Introduction
According to Khalik (2005), taxonomy is a branch of the biological sciences related to
systematics that describing, identifying, classifying, and naming of organisms. The words are
derived from the Greek which taxis means arrangement and nomos means law (Khalik,
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2005).It is defined as the study and description of the variation of organisms, the
investigation of the causes and consequences of this variation, and the manipulation of the
data to produce a system of classification law (Khalik, 2005). Taxonomy is important since
the past 260 years, and then biological nomenclature has been guided by the binomial
system developed by Carolus Linnaeus (Bennett & Balick, 2014). Taxonomy that similar to
systematic is universal and not restricted to plants or even living organisms (Khalik, 2005).
Plant taxonomy is defined as science that describes, classifies, identifies and names plant
(Sakariyawo, 2011). Its aims are to identify all type of plants and to arrange the type of plant
in a scheme of classification to show their relationship (Sakariyawo, 2011). According to
Mahon (2008), the simplest classification is based on need and use; classically, humans
classified plants into edible, poisonous, medicinal, and hallucinogenic categories. Plant
taxonomy gives us many advantages mainly in era of globalization now a day like
agriculture, medicine, pharmaceutical, genetic variability and food industry.
Agriculture
Taxonomic is very important to support agriculture because sometime collections and
publications contain many old, incorrect names that have been replaced, misidentifications,
names which are applied to different species by different authors, species groups which are
treated as a single species by one author, but as a complex of different species by another,
and so on (Cock, 2011). In taxonomy, it is important to be aware of such synonyms,
alternative taxonomic interpretations and local names to obtain all useful information (Cock,
2011). Generally, taxonomic is widely used in agriculture to identify of crop-related
biodiversity and the tools and information that can be generated based on identification or
sometimes more than identification is needed (Cock, 2011). For example, in a farming site, a
farmer might find a bug on his crop, then takes to a specialist for advice. The specialist might
ask you to take no action because this is a friends of farmers since they eat other insects,
not crops (Cock, 2011). Sometime, the specialist might identify the bug as a defoliating
caterpillar (Cock, 2011). It is harmful for crop because they eat leaves or other crop parts
thus causing damage (Cock, 2011). Usually, the specialist will suggest the use of a
preparation of Bacillus thuringiensis to kill defoliating caterpillars and give small impact on
other insects in the crop (Cock, 2011).
Therefore, by taxonomic, identification and characterize the food plants, pest status
and control options for the species is become easy (Cock, 2011). When study on organism
relevant to agriculture, taxonomists usually may query about their biology, differentiated
populations of this organism in different parts of its range or different climate regions of the
same country, individual variation is there within the species with regard to size, markings,
phenology, and host range and so on (Cock, 2011). Hence taxonomy is important in
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agriculture as an essential support to pest management, which in turn is the key to losing
less production to pests, and increasing food production and food security (Cock, 2011).
Taxonomy is also necessary to facilitate trade in agricultural (Cock, 2011). Botanical
nomenclature is started from 1973 with Species Plantarum publication (Bennett & Balick,
2014). The first name validly and effectively published on or after that date has priority while
other names referring to the same taxon are synonyms (Bennett & Balick, 2014). All
scientists employ the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and
Plants (known as the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature until 2011). Even
though, the system is not perfect, it has been universally accepted in global biodiversity
(Bennett & Balick, 2014). Taxonomy functions as an aid or starting point of various types of
agricultural research; -The results of taxonomie investigations are used in extension,
education, trade and commerce, so in all social situations in which vegetable products are to
be dealt with.

Genetic variability
Management of genetic resources require better understanding of taxonomy as it
allows us to differentiate a set of species priorities (Rao & Hodgkin, 2001). Taxonomy
reveals of genome in the different organism and documents it as different taxa (Rao &
Hodgkin, 2001). Therefore, conservationists can share their finding of materials properties
(Rao & Hodgkin, 2001). Conventionally, taxonomy is compared based on morphological
features, but now data generated using molecular techniques has provided new
understandings into the phylogeny and taxonomy of many plant groups (Rao & Hodgkin,
2001). Classification is based on genetic diversity, adaptation and fixation of genes (Rao &
Hodgkin, 2001).

These include:
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Molecular techniques make it possible to analyse numerous characters, which are also
independent, whereas morphological analysis provides fewer characters, often of dubious
homology.
Morphology is prone to considerable convergence while most DNA regions are less so
and even if there is some convergence, the genetic basis of convergence in molecules is
better understood. Thus the molecular approach is more objective.
Molecular markers are relatively independent of the environment (Beckmann and Soller,
1986). A further advantage has been the opportunity that organellar DNA studies can
analyse maternal and paternal lineages separately. For example, it has been proposed that
the use of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) restriction fragment analysis provides numerous
independent molecular characters that can often rigorously define monophyletic lineages
(Sytsma et al., 1991; Gielly and Taberlet, 1994; Tsumura et al., 1996) and exhibit low
intraspecific variation. The latter assumption was reviewed and it was concluded that, far
from being rare, intraspecific cpDNA variation is relatively common (Harris and Ingram,
1991). The possible effects of this on phylogenetic reconstructions are yet to be fully
understood, suggesting that cpDNA data should be used along with a wider consideration of
the degree of intra-individual and intraspecific variation and of the mode of plastid
transmission. There may be some serious questions as to its inheritance patterns, which can
create problems of interpretation (Dong and Wagner, 1994).
However, there is no doubt that the use of both nuclear and organellar DNA in taxonomic
studies is providing very interesting new insights in a number of plant families with important
crop plants. In the Brassicineae, relationships between species are now seen rather
differently in the light of molecular studies which tend to confirm results from interspecies
crossing experiments (Warwick and Black, 1993). Not surprisingly, there have been a
number of reports of discrepancies between analyses of DNA and morphology in the
estimation of plant phylogeny. The discrepancies may arise as result of procedural problems
or biological attributes of the organisms. The problems can arise from within both the
morphological and the molecular aspects of the study (Sytsma,1990). Both kinds of
problems must be better understood to permit a more thorough synthesis of DNA

Medicine
The identification of the diversity of life and understanding relationships among
organisms are important to medicinal plant studies (Bennett & Balick, 2008). Understanding
evolutionary relationships among species need to be understood in the study of plant
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medicines (Bennett & Balick, 2008). The importance of standardized nomenclature is well
established in medicine. In addition, necessity standard definition is required to improve the
quality of critical care clinical trials (Singh & Ferguson, 2009). Monophyly is basic principle
that very important in medicine. Monophyly is a group that includes its ancestor and all of its
descendants (Bennett & Balick, 2013). Taxonomic is a basis to classify natural products,
other than morphological studies (Arriaza, 2009). Generally, metabolite that stored in the
plant will determine their species, genera, families or specific plant because metabolites
were specific of some plants (Arriaza, 2009). For example, the "opium" of Papaver
somniferum contains twenty alkaloids such as morphine, thebaine, codeine, and narcotine.
According to Arriaza (2009), this has led to a new field called "chemotaxonomy, which is to
study the constituents of plants according to their taxonomy. The phytochemical constituents
are considered as symbols to understand the evolution relationship and classification of the
plants (Arriaza, 2009). According to Mathe (2011), 80% of people in the world tend to choose
traditional medicines for their healthcare and medicinal plants play an important role in the
remaining 20%. But, still, there is no special group to accompany the human by the history
(Mathe, 2011). Medicinal plants are used based on tradition and literature records according
to the ingredient and metabolites (Mathe, 2011). As an example aromatic plants will being
fragrant and determine the taste of the material, while species plant is used for seasoning,
spicing, flavouring, coloring foods and so on (Mathe, 2011). Complexity and the overlapping
uses of active ingredients cause them difficult to classify, thus, these plants used as
medicinal plants regardless their specific features (Mathe, 2011). But, recent study
Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs) used to differentiate ingredients-containing group of
medicinal plants (Mathe, 2011). For instance, the family Labiateae (Lamiaceae) compose of
a large number of essential oil containing species (lavender, thyme and rosemary) whereas
Solanaceae are characterized by the occurrence of several alkaloid-containing species
(Belladonna, thorn apple and tobacco) (Mathe, 2011).

Figure 1: the queen of medicinal

plant, Chamomilla recutita

L (Mathe, 2011).

Conclusions
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Taxonomy is very important. Misuse of scientific names will cause companies miss
commercial opportunities because failure to access published research as not knowing all
names ever used for that plant because it is more than one name.
Taxonomic

names

providejudgmentsonspeciesboundariesandonthe

phylogeneticrelationshipsoftaxa(Godfray,2007).

Closelyrelated

taxa

aremorelikelytosharecharacteristics,includingchemical. constituents, than distantly related

ones.Therefore,theyaremore likely toproducesimilarphysiologicaleffectsinvitroorinvivo. The
physicistEnricoFermiquippedthatifhecouldremember
namesofthesubatomicparticleshewouldhavebeena
Thereareindeedmany

plant

the
botanist(Lloyd

names.ThePlantList,anonlinedatabasecreatedbythe

RoyalBotanicGardens,KewandtheMissouriBotanicalGarden,
namesofvascularplantsandbyro-

includes

1,244,871scientific

phytesinits

iteration.Ofthese,298,900areacceptedspecies
UnlikeFermi,today'sresearcherhas

andMitchinson,2007).

names

(The

first
PlantList,2013).

readyaccesstothesenamesinonlinedatabases.Thereisno

legitimate

excuseforusingincorrectnameormisspellednames.If

researchersandreviewersfollowafewsimplerules,theywould
avoidambiguityassociatedwitherroneoustaxonomy.Itistimefor botanyandmedicinetoreunite.

and

Taxonomy is also important outside the field

of research. Man wants to give a name to
everything what he uses. He is also forced to
classify to find his way between so many of
plant species and cultivars.
Without names we cannot do much: plant
products are asked and offered for sale under
crop names or cultivar names. A name acts as
an important bridge between plant and its
performance. Therefore it seems logical that
legislations, which make possible to attach
rights and obligations to cultivars, make
regulations with respect to nomenclature to
protect consumer and user.
Nomenclature rules for botanical taxa, cultivars
and cultivar groups as well are important
for the relatively small group of botanists,
bear
a
general
effect
on

human

society.

Arriaza P. 2009. Classification of medicinal and aromatic plants.

Bennett and Balick. 2008. Plant Taxonomy for Preclinical and Clinical Medicinal Plant
Researchers. Journal of the Society for Integrative Oncology, Vol 6, No 4 (Fall), 2008: pp
150157

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JIB 431/4: BIOSYSTEMATIC (ASSIGNMENT 1)

Bennett B.C & Balick M.J. 2013. Does the name really matter? The importance of botanical
Nomenclature and plant taxonomy in biomedical research.
/JournalofEthnopharmacology152(2014)387392

Cock M.J.W. 2011. Funding taxonomic support to agriculture in developing countries.

Conservation (Ed. Leadlay & Jury). Cambridge University Press.
Dransfield (2006). Rattans, taxonomy and development. In Taxonomy and Plant
Khalik K.A. 2005. Introduction to Plant Systematics.
LevetinMcMahon: Plants and Society, Fifth Edition II. Introduction to Plant Life: Botanical
Principles 8. Plant Systematics and Evolution The McGrawHill Companies, 2008
Mathe A. 2011. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants. Vol II- Medicinal and Aromatic Plants.
Nelson D.R., 2005. Gene nomenclature by default or blasting to Babel. Hum. Genomics
2,196201.
Rao V.R & Hodgkin T. 2001. Genetic diversity and conservation and utilization of plant
genetic resources. Plant Cell, Tissue and Organ Culture 68: 119, 2002.
Sakariyawo O. 2011. Anatomy, Taxonomy and Physiology of Agricultural Plants.
Singh,
J.M.,Ferguson,N.D.,2009.Betterinfrastructureforcriticalcaretrials:
etymology,andinformatics.Crit.CareMed.37(Suppl.1), S173S177.

Food Science Text Series

2005
Modern Food Microbiology
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James M. Jay,
Martin J. Loessner,
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ISBN: 978-0-387-23180-8 (Print) 978-0-387-23413-7 (Online)
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nomenclature,