TAXONOMIC NOTES - A PROPOSAL FOR RECORDING THE PROPERTIES OF PUTATIVETAXA OF PROKARYOTES

The problem that the proposal for recording the properties of putative taxa of procaryotes attempts to redress arises because the Internatio nal Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria is not able to provide sensible r egulation of nomenclature for new taxa defined by very limited data, s uch as a nucleotide sequence for a small portion of the genome. The co nstructors of the original code (1957) and the Judicial Commission con sidering the 1976 and 1990 revisions did not foresee or act upon the p ossibilities for molecular description and typification of procaryotes that were not yet cultivable. As a result, formal names are being pro posed for uncultivated procaryotes whose uniqueness is defined only by very limited characteristics, such as differences in a molecular sequ ence. As the editors of two journals concerned with the systematics of procaryotes, we recognize that the problem will increase as the avail able technology gains wider use and becomes easier to apply. According ly, this note is presented in advance of discussions by the Internatio nal Committee on Systematic Bacteriology at the forthcoming congress ( July 1994) so that there may be discussions and reaction by colleagues .