Why does estimating species diversity for prokaryotes present challenges?

Conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for them.

c) Conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for them.

Estimating species diversity for prokaryotes presents challenges primarily because conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for their identification. Prokaryotes, which include bacteria and archaea, are unicellular organisms without a true nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Unlike plants and animals, prokaryotes lack distinct morphological features that can be easily used for traditional taxonomic identification.

Some of the reasons why conventional taxonomic methods are not suitable for prokaryotes include:

1. Microscopic Size: Prokaryotes are often very small and cannot be easily studied under a standard light microscope, making direct observation and identification challenging.
2. Lack of Distinct Morphology: Prokaryotes lack the complex and recognizable structures found in multicellular organisms, which hinders their visual differentiation.
3. Genetic Diversity: Prokaryotes exhibit a vast amount of genetic diversity, even within closely related species, making it difficult to delineate species boundaries using traditional taxonomic criteria.
4. Unculturable Species: Many prokaryotic species are not culturable under laboratory conditions, limiting the application of traditional culturing and isolation methods.

To address these challenges, researchers have increasingly turned to molecular and genomic approaches for identifying and classifying prokaryotic species. DNA sequencing and other molecular techniques have become invaluable tools in studying prokaryotic diversity, allowing researchers to analyze the genetic information of prokaryotes and better understand their relationships and ecological roles. As a result, our understanding of prokaryotic diversity has expanded, and many previously unknown prokaryotic species have been discovered. However, the vast diversity of prokaryotes still poses challenges in fully characterizing and documenting their species richness.