The International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP), formerly the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology (ICSB), is the body that oversees the nomenclature of

prokaryotes A prokaryote () is a single-celled organism A unicellular organism, also known as a single-celled organism, is an organism In biology, an organism (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ὀργανισμός, ''organismos'') is any individual contig ...

, determines the rules by which prokaryotes are named and whose Judicial Commission issues Opinions concerning taxonomic matters, revisions to the

Bacteriological CodeThe International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) formerly the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB) or Bacteriological Code (BC) governs the scientific names for Bacteria and Archaea.P. H. A. Sneath, 2003. A short history ...

, etc.

Composition

The ICSP consists of an executive board, the members of a decision-making committee (judicial commission) and members elected from member societies of the

International Union of Microbiological Societies The International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS), founded in 1927 as the International Society of Microbiology, is one of 40 member unions and associations of the International Science Council The International Science Council (I ...

(IUMS). In addition, the ICSP has a number of subcommittees dealing with issues regarding the nomenclature and taxonomy of specific groups of prokaryotes.

Subcommittees

The ICSP has a number of subcommittees dealing with issues regarding the nomenclature and taxonomy of specific groups of prokaryotes. These include the following: *'' Aeromonadaceae, Vibrionaceae'' and related organisms *Genera ''

Agrobacterium ''Agrobacterium'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), ci ...

'' and ''

Rhizobium ''Rhizobium'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circu ...

'' *''

Bacillus ''Bacillus'' (Latin "stick") is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (t ...

'' and related organisms *''

Bifidobacterium ''Bifidobacterium'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), ...

'', ''

Lactobacillus ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including ...

'' and related organisms *Genus ''

Brucella ''Brucella'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their ...

''; ''

Burkholderia ''Burkholderia'' is a genus of Proteobacteria whose pathogenic members include the Burkholderia cepacia complex, ''Burkholderia cepacia'' complex, which attacks humans and ''Burkholderia mallei'', responsible for glanders, a disease that occurs mo ...

'', '' Ralstonia'' and related organisms *''

Campylobacter ''Campylobacter'' (meaning "curved bacteria") is a genus Genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic rank Taxonomy (general) is the practice and science of classification of things or concepts, including the principles that underlie such classificat ...

'' and related bacteria *

Clostridia The Clostridia are a highly polyphyletic class of Firmicutes The Firmicutes (Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken in the ar ...

and ''Clostridium''-like organisms *''

Comamonadaceae The Comamonadaceae are a family of the Betaproteobacteria.Willems A., J. De Ley, M. Gillis, and K. Kersters. ''Comamonadaceae, a New Family Encompassing the Acidovorans rRNA Complex, Including Variovorax paradoxus gen. nov.,comb. nov. for Alcalig ...

'' and related organisms *Family ''

Enterobacteriaceae Enterobacteriaceae is a large family In , family (from la, familia) is a of people related either by (by recognized birth) or (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of families is to maintain the well-being of its members ...

Flavobacterium ''Flavobacterium'' is a genus of Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria Bacteria (; common noun bacteria, singular bacterium) are a type of Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of ...

''- and ''

Cytophaga ''Cytophaga'' is a genus of Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram stain, gram-staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, ...

''-like bacteria *Gram-negative anaerobic rods *Family ''

Halobacteriaceae In alpha taxonomy, taxonomy, the Halobacteriaceae are a family (biology), family of the Halobacteriales in the domain Archaea.See the National Center for Biotechnology Information, NCBI]webpage on Halobacteriaceae Data extracted from the ''Halob ...

'' *Family ''

Halomonadaceae Halomonadaceae is a family of halophilic Proteobacteria. History The family was originally described in 1988 to contain the genera ''Halomonas'' and ''Deleya''. In 1989, ''Chromobacterium marismortui'' was reclassified as ''Chromohalobacter mari ...

'' *Genus ''

Leptospira ''Leptospira'' ( grc, leptos, links=no, 'fine, thin' and la, spira, links=no, 'coil') is a genus of spirochaete bacteria, including a small number of pathogenic and saprophytic species. ''Leptospira'' was first observed in 1907 in kidney tiss ...

'' *Genus ''

Listeria ''Listeria'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), cir ...

'' *

Methanogen Methanogens are microorganisms that produce methane Methane (, ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of s that constitute a particular ...

s *Suborder ''

Micrococcineae The Micrococcineae are a suborder of bacteria of the order Actinomycetales. They are Gram-positive soil organisms, and are also paraphyletic with respect to the suborder Actinomycetineae and order Bifidobacteriales, i.e. the Actinomycetineae and B ...

'' *Families ''

Micromonosporaceae Micromonosporaceae is a family of bacterium, bacteria of the class Actinobacteria. They are gram-positive, spore-forming soil organisms that form a true mycelium. Phylogeny The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the List of Prokaryotic name ...

'', '' Streptosporangiaceae'' and '' Thermomonosporaceae'' *Class ''

Mollicutes Mollicutes is a class of bacteria Bacteria (; common noun bacteria, singular bacterium) are a type of Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micromet ...

'' *Genus ''

Mycobacterium ''Mycobacterium'' is a genus of Actinobacteria, given its own family, the Mycobacteriaceae. Over 190 species are recognized in this genus. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis (''Mycobac ...

'' *''

Nocardia ''Nocardia'' is a genus Genus (plural genera) is a taxonomic rank Taxonomy (general) is the practice and science of classification of things or concepts, including the principles that underlie such classification. The term may also refer to a ...

'' and related organisms *Family ''

Pasteurellaceae The Pasteurellaceae comprise a large family of Gram-negative bacteria. Most members live as commensals on mucosal surfaces of birds and mammals, especially in the upper respiratory tract. Pasteurellaceae are typically Bacillus (shape), rod-shaped, ...

'' *Photosynthetic prokaryotes *''

Pseudomonas ''Pseudomonas'' is a genus Genus /ˈdʒiː.nəs/ (plural genera /ˈdʒen.ər.ə/) is a taxonomic rank In biological classification In biology, taxonomy () is the scientific study of naming, defining (Circumscription (taxonomy), circ ...

Xanthomonas ''Xanthomonas'' (from greek: ''xanthos'' – “yellow”; ''monas'' – “entity”) is a genus of Proteobacteria Proteobacteria is a major phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. They include a wide variety of pathogenic genera, such as ''Escheric ...

'' and related organisms *Suborder '' Pseudonocardineae'' *''Staphylococci'' and ''streptococci'' *Family ''Streptomycetaceae''

Publications

The ICSP is also integral to the production of the publication of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (the Bacteriological Code) and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM) (formerly the International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, IJSB). IUMS has now agreed to transfer copyright of future versions of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (to be renamed the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes) to the ICSP.

References

{{Authority control Taxonomy (biology) organizations Bacteriology Prokaryote taxonomy