Summary auto-generated
This Request for an Opinion addresses a critical taxonomic problem with Pectinatus portalensis, a bacterial species described by Gonzalez et al. in 2004. The authors Vereecke and Arahal discovered that the type strains deposited in culture collections—CECT 5841T and LMG 22865T—do not match the original species description. Through 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and phenotypic characterization, these strains were identified as Enterococcus faecalis, not Pectinatus portalensis. The deposited strains were aerobic, Gram-positive cocci, contradicting the anaerobic, Gram-negative description of the type strain. Despite attempts to locate or replace the original type strain B6T, no suitable alternative has been found or proposed by the original authors. Following International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria guidelines, the authors propose that if no replacement type strain or neotype is provided within two years of this opinion's publication, Pectinatus portalensis should be placed on the list of rejected names, effectively invalidating the species.
Key findings
- The type strains CECT 5841T and LMG 22865T deposited for P. portalensis were actually identified as Enterococcus faecalis through 16S rRNA sequencing
- The deposited strains exhibited contradictory phenotypic features compared to the original description: they were aerobic and Gram-positive rather than anaerobic and Gram-negative
- The original type strain B6T no longer exists in any established culture collection or with the original authors
- Without a suitable replacement type strain or neotype within two years, P. portalensis should be rejected as a species name
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Abstract
On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and several key phenotypic features, it was ascertained that the cultures cited as the type strain of the species Pectinatus portalensis, CECT 5841T and LMG 22865T, do not conform to the description, [Gonzalez, J. M., Jurado, V., Laiz, L., Zimmerman, J., Hermosin, B. & Saiz-Jimenez, C. (2004). Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 86, 241–248]. The type strain does not exist in any other established culture collection or with the authors who described this species. Therefore, it cannot be included in any scientific study. It is proposed that the Judicial Commission place the name Pectinatus portalensis on the list of rejected names if a suitable replacement type strain is not found or a neotype is not proposed within two years following the publication of this Request for an Opinion.
The species Pectinatus portalensis was described by Gonzalez et al. (2004) based on a single strain, B6, as an obligate anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium possessing coccoid to slightly oval-shaped cells. The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession number for the 16S rRNA gene sequence of strain B6T is AY428574. In the protologue of the effective publication, one culture collection number was given for the type strain, CECT 5841T, and later a second one, LMG 22865T, was provided on request for validation (Gonzalez et al., 2005). It was later found that none of the deposited strains conformed to the description of the type strain of Pectinatus portalensis.
Based on the results of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, strains CECT 5841 and LMG 22865 were identified as Enterococcus faecalis. Indeed they could be cultured aerobically, had a perfect coccal morphology rather than coccoid or oval, and were Gram-positive. These results were obtained separately at the LMG and CECT almost simultaneously and communicated to each party and to the depositor and corresponding author of the original description (Gonzalez et al., 2004). Unfortunately, all attempts to replace the type strain have been unfruitful (Juan M. Gonzalez, personal communication).
According to Rule 18c of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (Lapage et al., 1992), if a suitable replacement type strain or a neotype cannot be found or proposed, respectively, within two years of the publication of this Request for an Opinion, it is proposed that the Judicial Commission places the name Pectinatus portalensis on the list of rejected names.