Page 16 INTERNATIONAL BUUETIN STATUS OF THE GENERIC NAME BACTERIUM, THE SPECIFIC NAME BACTERIUM COLI .9M) THE FAMILY NAhE B.4CTERIACEAE Preliminary Statement, File No. 5 The Editorial Roard has prepared the followinq preliminary state- ment for consideration by the Judicial Commission and for the in- formation of the members of the Intervational Committee on Bact- eriological Nomenclatiire. It is a revision of a statement earlier circulated,and disciissed at the meetings of the Commission and of the Committee held at the time of the International Microbiolog- ical Conyress at Rio de Janeiro (1950). The Judicial Commission, through its Editorial Board, will he pleased to receive comments, criticisms and siiqqestions from any person interested. The Judicial Comnission has reveals much confusion with been asked to prepare and issiie reference to the use of the an opinion fixinp, the statiis of generic name Bacterium and of the qeneric name Bscteriurn Ehr- the family name Bacteriaceae. enbere;, of the specific name Proposal No.1 as submitted to Bacterium coli,and of the fam- the Commission seeks to elimin- ily name Bacterinceae. ate the conftlsion by the re- jection of these names,the F'ROPOSALS.Two proposals have second proposal would eliminate been received. the confusion by the careful definition of these names. 1.It is proposed that the ?en- eric nape Bacterium and the The following topics require family name Bacteriaceqe be de- examination : signated as nomin.7 rejicienda. A.Rejection or conservation of the generic name Bacterium Ehr- 2.It is proposed that the gen- enberg; 1828. eric name Bacterium and the R.Rejection or conservation of family name Bacteriaceae be de- the generic name Bacterium as signated as nomina conservanda, proposed or emended by later that the genus Bacterium be authors. desiqnated as the type genus of C.If Bacterium is conserved, the family Bacteriaceae, that designation of its type spe- the species Bacterium cof i be cies. designated as the type of the C.Rejection or conservation of genus Bacterium,and that a type the familv name Bacteriaceae or standard culture be selected with the designation of the for Bacterium coli. type genus if the name is con- served , The literature of bacteriology E.Conservation of the name of Page 17 BACTERIOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY the type species of Bacterium came here Bacteriiirn terrno.Later if the aeneric name is con- Ehrenberg (1832)(3) included served. two species defini,tely, and F. Selection and approval of four tentatively. In 1838 he the type culture for the type (4 f i gu red Bac ter i urn tri 1 oc - species of Bacterium if this dare as a motile rod with one generic name is conserved. polar flagellum and with the cell divided into two or three A.Reject ion or conservation of compartments. Although in- the generic name Bacterium Ehr- cluded in descriptions by other enbere 1828. authors later, there does not seem to have been any subse- The generic name Bacterium was quent definite identification first proposed by Ehrenberg (1) of Bacterium triloculare. in 1828. A single species Bacterium trilocufare was in- The type species of Bacterium cluded in the protozoan family Ehrenberg 1828 is Bacterium Vibrioni, This organism was de- triloculare Fhrenberg 1828 by scribed as distinctly triloc- monotypy. If the genus Bacter- ular or triarticulate, sub- ium Fhrenberg 1828 is placed by fusiform, hyaline, body terete, international agreement in a 1/300 lines long (approximately list of nomina generica con- 7k), apparently multiplying by servanda this action would seem transverse division, and mo- to fix the qenus and its type tile. Found in the Oasis of species in a non-usable form, Jupiter Ammon, Siwa. Ehrenberg since the only species cannot again described the genus in be identified. Further it seems 1830 (2), then including eleven quite improbable that other species, several of them trans- species placed by later authors ferred to this genus from var- in the geniis Bacterium could be ious protozoan genera previpus- retained in a genus of which ly described by Mueller. The Bacterium triloculare is the Monas of the latter be- termo type ' - (l).Ehrenberg, C. F. Symbolae Physicae seu Icones et Descrip- tiones animalitim evertebratorum sepositis insectis quae ex itinere per Africam Borealem et Asiam Occidentalem. Berlin. 1928. (2).Ehrenberg, C. C. Reitrgge zur Kenntnis der Organisation der Infusorien und ihrer geographischen Verbrei tune. Abhandl. d. Berl.Akad. pp. 1-80. 1830. (3).Ehrenberg, C. G. Die geographische Verbreitung der Infusions- thierchen in Nord Afrika und West Asien,etc. Abhand1.d.k. Akad. d. Wiss. z. Berlin. Physik-Klasse. 1832. (4).Ehrenberg, C. G. Die Infusionsthierchen als vollkommene Org- anismen. Leipzig. 1838. Page 18 1N”ATIONAL BULLETIN This difficulty of assigning In the sixth edition of Ber- species of bacteria to the gey’s Manual of Determinative genus Bacterium as described by Bacteriology Bacterium is de- Ehrenberg has led to the aban- fined as follows: “The term donment of the generic name by Bacterium is used to cover many authors. For example, species of nonsporeforming rod- Sternberg (1892) (1) stated shaped bacteria whose position =This genus established by Du- in the system is not definitely jardin is now generally aban- established.” doned, the species formerly in- cluded in it being transferred Obviously an organism placed in to the genus Bacillus.” the genus Bacterium but so in- adequately described as not to Breed, Conn and Baker (1918) be placeable in the appropriate (2) likewise suggested that the genus must remain as a species name be dropped, or at most dubia with its original name regarded as a general desig- retained until proper identif- nation for insufficiently de- ication is possible. scribed organisms. B. Rejection or conservation of This point of view was later the generic name Bacterium as advocated by Breed and Conn amended or proposed by later (1936) (3) with an important authors . proviso. While recommending that Bacterium as a formal gen- Bacterium Cohn 1872 (4). Cohn’s eric name be rejected, they be- descriptions were based largely lieved it advisable to retain on his concept of Bacterium it as a tentative but accepted termo as the organism respons- name for those species which ible for decay. Transfers of previously have been placed in liquid from decaying beans to a this genus and should remain medium containing ammonium tar- there until such time as they trate yielded a green fluor- may be satisfactorily allocated escence. Later Cohn (1875) (5) to other genera. included several other species in the genus. Trevisan (1879) (l).Sternberg, G. M. Manual of Bacteriology. New York. 1892. (2).Breed,R.S. , H. J.Conn and J.C.Baker. Comments on the Evolution and Classification of the Bacteria. Jour. Bact. 2:445-459. 19 18. (3).Breed, R. S. and H. J. Conn. The Status of the Generic Name Bacterium Ehrenberg 1828. Jour. Bact. 3J:517-518. 1936. (4).Cohn, Ferdinand. Untersuchungen ueber Bakterien. 1. in Cohn’s Beitr.z.Biol.d.Pflanzen. &:127-224. 1872. (5).Cohn, Ferdinand. Untersuchungen ueber Bakterien. 11. in Cohn’s Beitr.z.Biol.d.Pf1anzen. (Heft 3). L:141-208. 1875. Page 19 BACl‘ERIOLOGICAL NOhENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY (1) used the designation “Bact- Vi gnal , Cohn ) . erim Ehrenberg (1830 non 1828) emend. Cohn and included the Two other workers independently species B-termo. Apparently suggested defining the genus Trcvisan regarded the first de- Bacterium to include the polar scribed species B.triIocufare flagellate rods. Vuillemin as non-identifiable, and chose (1913) (4) published a proposal to date the generic name by an that Bacterium be designated as Ehrenberg publication contain- a nonen genericum conservandum ing the description of a spec- with Bacterium termo Ehrenberg ies which could be recognized. as a prototype and Bacterium Fyocyaneum, a fluorescent polar Erwin F. Smith (1905) (2) con- flagellate, as the type. Ender- cluded that none of the species lein (5) also defined Bacterium placed in the genus before the to include bacteria with polar work of Cohn could be identi- flagella, and designated B. fied. He repeated some of aeruginosum as the type. Cohn’s experiments and conclud- ed that the Bacterium termo of The approval of Bacterium Cohn Cohn is a polar flagellate rod 1872 as a genus conservandum capable of producing a fluor- with its later designation of escent pigment in a tartrate type species would make Pseudo- medium. Smith’s characteriza- monas Migula 1894 a later syn- tion of Bacterium was rather onym, and would require the use widely used by those working of the name in a way which has with bacterial diseases of not been accepted commonly by plants. bacteriologists. If the pro- posal (6) to make Pseudomonas Enlows (1920)( 3) designated the Migula 1894 a genus conservand- type species of Bacterium urn is approved, obviously it (Ehrenberg) emend. Cohn 1872 as would need to be conserved Bacterium termo (MGller 1773, against Bacterium Cohn 1872. Ehrenberg 1830, Dujardin 1841, (l).Trevisan, V. Primie Linee d’Introduzione allo Studio dei Bat- terj Italiani. Rend. Real. 1nst.Lombardo di Scienze e Lettere IV. Ser 11. lJ:13-21, 133-151. 1879. (2).Smith, Erwin F. Bacteria in Relation to Plant Diseases. Car- negie Inst. Washington. 1905. (S).Enlows, Ella M. A. The Generic Names of Bacteria. Hyg. Lab. Bull. 121, U. S.Pub1ic Health Service,Treasury Dept.p. 21.1920. (4).Vuillemin, Paul. Genera Schizomycetum. Ann. Mycologie ;:596. 1913. (5).Enderlein, Bakte r ien-Cyclogenie. 1925. (6).(Editorial Board). Status of Pseudomonas Migula 1894 as a Generic Name. 1ntern.Bull.Bact.Nom. and Taxonomy. L:41. 1951. Page 20 1N"ATICNAL BULLETIN The type species of Bacterium has rarely been accepted by Cohn 1872 is Bacterium termo bacteriologists.