How to name a novel bacterial taxon?

How to name a novel bacterial taxon?

The nomenclature of microbes, plants and animals follow bionomial nomenclature introduced by Carl Linnaeus. According to this, name of a species should be unique with two parts;

1. Generic name
2. Specific name

Naming a bacterium is made possible using the hierarchical taxonomic system (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Hierarchical system of bacterial nomenclature with an example.

Naming a novel bacterium

Here are few criteria of naming a taxon;

Naming after a person: A novel taxon could be named after a person who has contributed to science. It is not ethical to name a taxon after one’s one name, or name of a family member or someone who’s not related to science. For example here’s etymology of genus Nocardia which is named after a scientist. Etymology: N.L. fem. n. Nocardia, named after Edmond Nocard (1850-1903), a French veterinarian who first isolated members of this taxon.

Naming after location: The new strain could also be named after the geographical location from where it was isolated. Example of etymology of the genus Antarctobacter isolated from Antarctica. Etymology: Ant.arc.to.bac’ter Antarctica, M.L. name of the South Pole continent; from Gr. pref. anti, against (on the other side); Gr. adj. arcticos, northern; Gr. n. baktron, a rod or staff; N.L. masc. n. bacter; N.L. masc. n. Antarctobacter, a rod-shaped bacterium from Antarctica.

Naming after source: The source of isolation as in plants, marine samples like sponges, fishes etc. Example of the species Micromonospora mangrovi isolated from mangrove soil. Etymology: man.gro’vi N.L. gen. neut. n. mangrovi, of a mangrove, referring to the isolation of the type strain from a mangrove soil.

Naming based on character: Unique characteristic of a novel strain could be used in naming. For instance etymology of Staphylococcus chromogenes that was able to produce colour is given here. Etymology: Gr. n. chroma, color; Gr. v. gennaio, produce; N.L. part. adj. chromogenes, producing color.

Bacteria may also be name after mythological figures and names of institutions too. The names are proposed by scientists who propose the species. The scientist must assign the new species to a known genus, but assigning that particular genus to a specific family and then to an order and the like is optional. It is suggested to find expert opinion in designing a valid etymology.

Valid and Invalid names

Valid: According to Prokaryotic Code, mentioning type strain while publication is the must for validation. The strain should be deposited in two culture collection centres and the strain should be available to anyone without patent restrictions. Ethically valid etymology and description must also be given.

Invalid: If a name is widely used before 1980 but not included in the approved list of bacterial names and name of new taxon published in journals other than IJSEM that are not validated are considered as invalid names.

How to validly describe new species?

‘International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology’ (IJSEM) is the peer reviewed official journal for publication of a novel prokaryotic taxa. 

Steps to be followed to publish a novel bacterium in IJSEM are;

• Obtain phenotypic and genome sequencing data of novel bacterium and comparative genetic information of the new strain to its related type strain(s). The phenotypic characteristics of validly accepted type strains may be retrieved from Bergey’s manual.
• It is mandatory to deposit the new strain in two culture collection centres of two countries and certificate of deposition of type strain shall be acquired from them. Clarification on choosing appropriate culture collection centre can be gotten from the ‘Industrial Culture Collections Advisory Panel’ of ‘World Federation for Culture Collections’. Figure 2 displays list of few culture collection centres.
• Manuscript shall be written including tables of differential characteristics of type strain and related strain(s) in the official format of IJSEM of describing a novel taxon. Valid etymology and description confining to ethical guidelines should also be specified.
• The so prepared manuscript shall be submitted to IJSEM along with the two culture deposition certificates.

Figure 2. List of culture collection centres.

How can the name be validly published in IJSEM?

In order to get validated the name of new species, it should be published in the updated list of IJSEM. There are two updated lists in IJSEM 1. Notification list and 2. Validation list. Subsequent changes in these lists are also published by the journal.

The manuscript proposals for publishing a new taxa or any change in name of a taxa will be reviewed by editors of IJSEM and if the manuscript meets requirements of the prokaryotic code, the paper/changes will be listed in the notification list and are then subjected to validation.

The author may also publish a novel taxon description manuscript in different peer review journal other than IJSEM, but should be validated by submitting a request to IJSEM with appropriate description and two culture deposition certificates. Once all the information are found to be correct meeting all the necessities of the rules 27 and 30 of the prokaryotic code, it will be featured in the validation list of IJSEM.

Approved list of bacterial nomenclature

The bacterial names described in the notification list and validation list of International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology (IJSB) and IJSEM are only considered as approved. The list of prokaryotic names with standing in nomenclature (LPSN) is the online database with over 2000 officially accepted names and description. A validly described novel taxon will also be reviewed in Bergey’s manual of systematic bacteriology.