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Correspondence
B. J. Tindall
bti{at}dsmz.de
ABSTRACT
The Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes has decided to place the genus Methanothrix with the species Methanothrix soehngenii Huser et al. 1983 on the list of nomina rejicienda, based on the fact that it is not represented by an axenic culture and contravenes Rule 31a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria. The species Methanothrix thermophila is transferred to the genus Methanosaeta as Methanosaeta thermophila (Kamagata et al. 1992
) Boone and Kamagata 1998 comb. nov.
In publishing this Opinion, the Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes has considered the Request for an Opinion by Boone & Kamagata (1998) in order to clarify the nomenclatural confusion associated with the genera Methanothrix and Methanosaeta.
In 1980, Zehnder et al. (1980) characterized an acetate-decarboxylating, non-hydrogen-oxidizing ‘methane bacterium’ with the morphological and metabolic properties of a filament-forming rod, which often occurred in bundles, that had been first recognized by the Dutch microbiologist N. L. Söhngen in 1910. Since then, organisms with this morphology enriched from sludge digestors have been reported many times in studies on methane formation and referred to as ‘the fat rod’ or ‘Methanobacterium soehngenii’. In 1982, Huser et al. (1982) published a formal description and named the organism Methanothrix soehngenii as the single species of the new genus Methanothrix. Strain Opfikon (=DSM 2139) was designated the type strain. However, this organism is not a pure culture and contravenes Rule 31a of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (the Code) (Lapage et al., 1992). Rule 31a states:
‘The name of a species or subspecies is not validly published if the description is based upon studies of a mixed culture of more than one species or subspecies. This does not apply to descriptions based chiefly on morphology (e.g. Achromatium oxaliferum Schewiakoff 1893)’.
On this basis, the name Methanothrix soehngenii Huser et al. 1983 is not validly published. This presents a problem for the typification of the genus Methanothrix. The Judicial Commission has previously ruled that strain GP6 could not serve as a neotype (Wayne, 1994). In view of the fact that the type strain of the species Methanothrix soehngenii is not represented by a pure culture, the Judicial Commission ruled that this name be placed on the list of nomina rejicienda.
As a consequence of this ruling, Methanothrix thermophila Kamagata et al. 1992 is not a member of a genus represented by a type species. The Judicial Commission ruled in favour of transferring this organism to the species Methanosaeta thermophila (Kamagata et al. 1992) Boone and Kamagata 1998 comb. nov.
Opinion prepared by B. J. Tindall and H. G. Trüper on behalf of the Judicial Commission.
REFERENCES
Boone, D. R. & Kamagata, Y. (1998). Rejection of the species Methanothrix soehngeniiVP and the genus MethanothrixVP as nomina confusa, and transfer of Methanothrix thermophilaVP to the genus MethanosaetaVP as Methanosaeta thermophila comb. nov. Request for an Opinion. Int J Syst Bacteriol 48, 1079–1080.
Huser, B. A., Wuhrmann, K. & Zehnder, A. J. B. (1982). Methanothrix soehngenii gen. nov. sp. nov., a new acetotrophic non-hydrogen-oxidizing methane bacterium. Arch Microbiol 132, 1–9.[CrossRef]
Kamagata, Y., Kawasaki, H., Oyaizu, H., Nakamura, K., Mikami, E., Endo, G., Koga, Y. & Yamasato, K. (1992). Characterization of three thermophilic strains of Methanothrix ("Methanosaeta") thermophila sp. nov. and rejection of Methanothrix ("Methanosaeta") thermoacetophila. Int J Syst Bacteriol 42, 463–468.
Lapage, S. P., Sneath, P. H. A., Lessel, E. F., Skerman, V. D. B., Seeliger, H. P. R. & Clark, W. A. (editors) (1992). International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (1990 Revision). Bacteriological Code. Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology.
Wayne, L. G. (1994). Actions of the Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology on Requests for Opinions published between January 1985 and July 1993. Int J Syst Bacteriol 44, 177–178.
Zehnder, A. J. B., Huser, B. A., Brock, T. D. & Wuhrmann, K. (1980). Characterization of an acetate-decarboxylating non-hydrogen-utilizing methane bacterium. Arch Microbiol 124, 1–11.[CrossRef][Medline]
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