key: cord-0010445-uw74ay5l authors: Berger, Stephen A.; Edberg, Stephen C. title: Microbial nomenclature: A list of names and origins date: 2002-12-10 journal: Diagn Microbiol Infect Dis DOI: 10.1016/0732-8893(87)90185-4 sha: dd0405fc9f9bd624ce5577a4965028778f453dcd doc_id: 10445 cord_uid: uw74ay5l Microbial nomenclature underwent a large number of changes in the 1970s. Many species of pathogens were added and many others experienced name changes. These modifications primarily were due to two unrelated factors: the use of new DNA hybridization techniques and the advent of computerized literature searches to establish historical precedence. In 1980 an approved list of microbial names was published. This list fixed and legitimized bacterial nomenclature. All future additions or alterations to it had to pass international scientific committees. This list has now been accepted by the scientific community. The derivation of these names are presented in this review. In the 1970s many species names of microbial pathogens were added and many others experienced nomenclature changes (Brenner, 1983; Stafleu et al., 1972) . In part, the impetus for these changes came from new molecular DNA hybridization techniques. Other changes were the result of literature searches that uncovered earlier mention of bacterial pathogens. Historical precedence required reversion to the original name. The large number of such changes caused considerable consternation for both clinicians and medical microbiologists. To establish order, an approved list of bacterial names was published in 1980 (Skerman et al.) . This code legitimized the names of bacteria and established a strict scientific mechanism to institute any changes. One could no longer alter a name based on historical precedence alone. The approved list has now been accepted by the scientific community. The purpose of this review is to present the legitimate names of human pathogens and to briefly recount the procedure that resulted in the approved list and the derivation of such names. More than 200 years ago, Linnaeus (1758) suggested a system of binomial nomenclature for animal and plants. He established the concept of taxonomy based on genus and species. The genus name denoted a cluster having major characteristics in common; a species denoted a group able to reproduce within itself, but not with other groups. The nomenclature of pathogenic microorganisms began with the acceptance of the Germ Theory in the 1860s, and the ability in the 1880s to grow microbes in vitro and in pure culture. Unlike organisms previously classified according to Linnean concepts, pathogenic bacteria did not have a true nucleus and reproduced asexually. Separation and establishment of species status commonly was based on macroscopic Modern nomenclature was derived predominantly from directly visualized phenomena or from the names of individuals. Personal surnames have been applied in latinized form in order to memorialize the person who either discovered or described the organism first (Table 1) . Often, a pathogen was named to honor an important researcher in a related field. The process of adapting names to the Linnean form occasionally has obscured the original spelling of the honored individual (e.g., McDade as micdadei and daRocha-Lima as Bochalimaea) (Vallery-Radat Pasteur, 1922) . In at least one instance, the name of a person unrelated to biology was chosen. Serratia was named to honor Serafino Serrati because it was felt this early inventor of the steamboat concept had not received sufficient recognition (Bizio, 1823) . Geographic names (Table 2 ) reflect the area in which the organism was either described or found in endemic or epidemic form. Nomenclature also has been based on vector, host, and resemblance to foods or inanimate objects (Tables 2 and 3 ). The most clinically relevant terms were derived from a disease process or histopathologic finding (Table 4} . In some instances, taxonomy is confusing because the original association of a microbial isolate with a disease subsequently has been proven incorrect. For example, Haemophilus influenzae initially was assumed to be the cause of influenza (Pfeiffer, 1892). Potentially confusing prefixes also have been applied to microbial names. Thus, the name "Eubacterium" implied a "true bacterium" and "Mycobacterium" denoted a "fungus-like bacterium/' Names that reflect laboratory phenomena and morphology frequently have been utilized (Table 5 ). Gross and microscopic morphology of the fungi (Table 6 ) and the parasites (Table 7) are based predominantly on the shape, texture, etc. of these organisms. Fungi and parasites generally are still identified on the basis of such criteria. In the 1960s a concerted effort was made to conform viral nomenclature to the genus and species principle. The majority of viral names reflect disease entities (e.g., poliovirus, mumps virus) or original place of isolation (e.g., Marburg virus, Coxsackie virus). Since the widespread utilization of cell cultures, cytopathologic names have been utilized (e.g., cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus). With the exception of the Epstein-Barr virus (Epstein et al., 1964) , viral taxonomy rarely has been assigned personal surnames ( Table 8) . The naming of microbial pathogens has paralleled the increasing sophistication of laboratory analysis. In the late 1800s characteristics such as size, shape, color, and disease entity were utilized. Morphology remains the first step in the identification process. For example, the definition of the name Staphylococcus aureus, (a "golden colored cluster of grapes") is the primary step in the algorithm to identify this pathogen. Because many species share gross similar features, the use of enzymatic biochemical tests became preeminent in the 1920s and 1930s. These tests detect a particular enzyme after growth in a defined milieu. The presence or absence of an enzyme system allowed laboratories to perform large numbers of tests on a single isolate. They could also compare results and exchange tests. Such phenotypic tests helped to overcome the inherent problem of species definition in asexual organisms by grouping pathogens based on stable, measureable characteristics. A large number of microbial isolates tested with multiple substrates could now be separated into groups. Nomenclature became a process of answering a series of "yes or no" questions, which microbiologists termed "positive" and "negative." Algorithms were developed to generate uniform identification schema. When some characteristics were found to be more important than others, various mathematical and statistical analyses were added to such decision trees (Jones and Sackin, 1980) . (58) Mycoplasma (14) Ureaplasma (14) Mantle The measurement of phenotypic enzymatic expressions allowed the separation of major microbial pathogens into an acceptable genus and species framework, but could not be relied on to be a true standard. For example, it was found that some phenotypic expressions considered stable were not chromosomal but plasmid-mediated (e.g., the production of urease by some members of the genus Proteus). In the 1970s the Centers for Disease Control applied DNA hybridization techniques to the comparison of genetic relatedness. At the end of the 1970s most of the medically important pathogens had been reanalyzed by DNA hybridization techniques. The microbiology community embarked on a program to codify the names of bacteria in order to avoid trivial, unscientific, and historical additions (Skerman et al., 1980) . It had been common practice to accept the original description of a microorganism for assignment of a legitimate name. Some individuals took advantage of this regulation to search the literature in an attempt to establish historical precedence and change commonly accepted species names. Often, the original description was fragmentary and incomplete. This problem became particularly acute in the late 1970s, and threat-ened to severely disrupt the ability of microbiologists to search the literature. In 1980 a code of bacterial nomenclature was presented (Skerman et al., 1980) . This code contained all accepted names. If an organism was not in the code it could not be used for scientific purposes. 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