ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Branching order of bacterial phyla after ARB Silva Living Tree

Okay kiddo, so let's start by talking about bacteria. Bacteria are tiny organisms that can only be seen under a microscope. There are many different types of bacteria, and scientists have been studying them for a long time to try and understand how they are related to each other.

Now, when scientists study bacteria, they usually look at their genes. Genes are pieces of genetic information that tell an organism how to grow and function. Scientists can compare the genes of different bacteria to see how similar they are, and they can use this information to try and figure out how the bacteria are related to each other.

One way that scientists organize the different types of bacteria is by grouping them into what are called "phyla". A phylum is like a big family of bacteria that all share certain characteristics. Scientists have identified many different phyla of bacteria, and they are always discovering new ones.

Now, the ARB SILVA living tree is a tool that scientists use to help them understand how different types of bacteria are related to each other. It's kind of like a family tree for bacteria. It shows the different phyla of bacteria and how they are related based on their genes.

When scientists look at the ARB SILVA living tree, they can see that the different phyla of bacteria branch off from each other in a certain order. This order is called the "branching order" of the bacterial phyla.

So, to sum it up, the branching order of bacterial phyla after the ARB SILVA living tree is the way that scientists organize the different types of bacteria based on their genes and how they are related to each other, kind of like a family tree.