Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species?
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduc...
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American Society for Microbiology
2018-09-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01469-18 |
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doaj-e27e92b83a214cd48725157526a5142f2021-07-02T04:47:21ZengAmerican Society for MicrobiologymBio2150-75112018-09-0195e01469-1810.1128/mBio.01469-18Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species?Theresa SmithCharles H. D. WilliamsonKaren HillJason SahlPaul KeimBotulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduced.Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduced. As the extreme diversity of these strains was recognized, a secondary system of taxonomic “groups” evolved. It became clear that these groups also had members that did not produce BoNT, and in some cases, they were given formal species names. Genomic analysis now clearly identifies species affiliations whether an isolate is toxigenic or not. It is clear that C. botulinum group nomenclature is no longer appropriate and that there are recognized species names for each clostridium. We advocate for the use of the scientific binomials and that the single-species group nomenclature be abandoned.https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01469-18Clostridium botulinumbotulismbotulinum neurotoxinphylogenetic analysistaxonomy |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Theresa Smith Charles H. D. Williamson Karen Hill Jason Sahl Paul Keim |
spellingShingle |
Theresa Smith Charles H. D. Williamson Karen Hill Jason Sahl Paul Keim Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? mBio Clostridium botulinum botulism botulinum neurotoxin phylogenetic analysis taxonomy |
author_facet |
Theresa Smith Charles H. D. Williamson Karen Hill Jason Sahl Paul Keim |
author_sort |
Theresa Smith |
title |
Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? |
title_short |
Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? |
title_full |
Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? |
title_fullStr |
Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Botulinum Neurotoxin-Producing Bacteria. Isn’t It Time that We Called a Species a Species? |
title_sort |
botulinum neurotoxin-producing bacteria. isn’t it time that we called a species a species? |
publisher |
American Society for Microbiology |
series |
mBio |
issn |
2150-7511 |
publishDate |
2018-09-01 |
description |
Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduced.Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are produced by a diverse set of seven clostridial species, though alternate naming systems have developed over the last 100 years. Starting in the 1950s, a single-species taxonomy where any bacterium producing BoNT would be designated Clostridium botulinum was introduced. As the extreme diversity of these strains was recognized, a secondary system of taxonomic “groups” evolved. It became clear that these groups also had members that did not produce BoNT, and in some cases, they were given formal species names. Genomic analysis now clearly identifies species affiliations whether an isolate is toxigenic or not. It is clear that C. botulinum group nomenclature is no longer appropriate and that there are recognized species names for each clostridium. We advocate for the use of the scientific binomials and that the single-species group nomenclature be abandoned. |
topic |
Clostridium botulinum botulism botulinum neurotoxin phylogenetic analysis taxonomy |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1128/mBio.01469-18 |
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