Abstract
Minute 1. Call to order.
The meeting was called to order by M. E. Martínez-Romero (Chairperson) at 12 : 30 on 26 July 2004 during the 6th European Nitrogen Fixation Conference in Toulouse, France.
Minute 2. Record of attendance.
The members present were G. Laguerre, P. de Lajudie, K. Lindström, M. E. Martinez-Romero, A. Willems and J. P. W. Young. Apologies were given by P. van Berkum, B. Eardly, W. X. Chen and P. H. Graham.
Minute 3. New taxa.
New taxa described since the last meeting on 4 July 2001 are Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense Yao et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52 (2002), 22192230], Bradyrhizobium betae Rivas et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 54 (2004), 12711275], Rhizobium indigoferae Wei et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52 (2002), 22312239], Rhizobium loessense Wei et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53 (2003), 15751583], Rhizobium sullae Squartini et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52 (2002), 12671276], Rhizobium yanglingense Tan et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 51 (2001), 909914], Sinorhizobium kummerowiae Wei et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52 (2002), 22312239], Sinorhizobium morelense Wang et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 52 (2002), 16871693] and Sinorhizobium americanum Toledo et al. [Syst Appl Microbiol 26 (2003), 5464; valid publication in Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 54 (2004), 19091910].
Minute 4. New members.
Moniek Gillis had told the subcommittee earlier that she wanted to resign and suggested that Anne Willems, Gent, takes her place. Pablo Vinuesa, Mexico, was proposed as a second new member of the subcommittee. The secretary will organize the voting.
Minute 5. The home page.
The secretary has started to prepare a website on rhizobial taxonomy, with links to useful sites and with room for discussions. It was proposed that the subcommittee would be well served by a specific webmaster and P. Vinuesa was proposed for this task.
Minute 6. Communication with other subcommittees.
Since legume-nodulating bacteria that belong to the genera Burkholderia (Burkholderia tuberum and Burkholderia phymatum Vandamme et al. [Syst Appl Microbiol 25 (2002), 507512]), Ralstonia (Ralstonia taiwanensis Chen et al. [Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 51 (2001), 17291735]), Devosia (Devosia neptuniae Rivas et al. [Syst Appl Microbiol 26 (2003), 4753]), Methylobacterium and Ochrobactrum [Ngom et al., J Gen Appl Microbiol 50 (2004), 1727] have been described, we should find out which subcommittees deal with these taxa and communicate with them. In case of nodulating taxa with no subcommittee, our subcommittee is prepared to deal with those.
Minute 7. Which bacteria should be called rhizobia?
Subcommittee members are often confronted with this question, which is not merely a taxonomic one. The subcommittee suggests that the word rhizobium (plural rhizobia) can be used as a common name for legume-nodulating, nitrogen-fixing bacteria irrespective of genus. It should not be used when referring to taxa.
Minute 8. Species concepts and definitions.
The subcommittee proposes that a new species concept and new species definitions are formulated for rhizobia. They should be based on an evolutionary species concept and the definitions should incorporate genomic data. The requirement for phenotypic traits to distinguish new taxa could be abolished.
Minute 9. Current membership of the subcommittee.
M. E. Martínez-Romero, Mexico (Chairperson), K. Lindström, Finland (Secretary), P. van Berkum, USA, R. A. Bradley, Costa Rica, B. Eardly, USA, W. X. Chen, China, P. H. Graham, USA, B. D. W. Jarvis, New Zealand, G. Laguerre, France, P. de Lajudie, France, and J. P. W. Young, UK. M. Gillis, Belgium, will be replaced by A. Willems, Belgium, and P. Vinuesa, Mexico, has been proposed as a candidate for membership.
Minute 10. Adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned at 14 : 30 on 26 July 2004.