Is the bacterial genus name Rhodococcus Zopf 1891 illegitimate? Request for an Opinion

Michael Goodfellow, Aharon Oren, Vartul Sangal, Iain C. Sutcliffe*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

In 2014, it was reported that the bacterial genus name Rhodococcus Zopf 1891 was illegitimate due to the priority of the cyanobacterial genus name Rhodococcus Hansgirg 1884. Since that time, the consequences of this conclusion have been largely ignored, whilst changes have been made to relevant Rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes, including significant changes to the way in which the Code treats the names of members of Cyanobacteriota. Given the complexity of the nomenclatural issues, we request the opinion of the Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes as to whether the genus name Rhodococcus Zopf 1891 (Approved Lists 1980) is illegitimate.
Original languageEnglish
Article number006251
Pages (from-to)1-3
Number of pages3
JournalInternational Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
Volume74
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 25 Jan 2024

Keywords

  • Actinomycetota
  • Cyanobacteriota
  • homonym
  • International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes
  • Request for an Opinion

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