has taken in the past fifty years, and the elaboration of special descriptive criteria which bacteriologists have of necessity developed, it is the opinion of the International Society for Microbiology that the bacteria constitute a group for which special arrangements are necessary. Therefore the International Society for Microbiology has decided to consider the subject of bacterial nomenclature as a part of its permanent program."
The International Society established a permanent Nomenclature Committee to pass upon suggestions and to make recommendations. This committee is composed of members (about 100 in all) from the participating nations. Two permanent secretaries were named, one to represent primarily medical and veterinary bacteriology, and one to represent other phases of bacteriology.[1]
It soon became apparent that the botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature included many items having no significance in bacteriology and virology and that bacterial and viral nomenclature required special consideration.
In 1936, at the London International Microbiological Congress, it was decided that an independent, but closely integrated, Code of Bacteriological Nomenclature be developed. In 1939, at the next International Congress, a Judicial Commission of fourteen was appointed and directed to prepare a code for consideration at the next Congress. The International Code of Bacteriological Nomenclature prepared by the Commission was approved in 1947 by the International Committee and by the plenary session of the Copenhagen Congress. These rules were published in English in March, 1948,[2] and later in French, Spanish, German and Japanese.
The Code was amended at Rio de Janeiro in 1950 and at Rome in 1953. The present code should be accessible to all bacteriologists and virologists. It has been edited and annotated by the Editorial Board of the Judicial Commission.[3] It should be consulted by all who wish to determine the correctness of names used in the literature and by those who describe new species or other taxa.
Some general principles of nomenclature. Every student of bacteriology should be familiar with certain rules of nomenclature if he is to use names intelligently. If he wishes to correct names improperly used or if he desires to name new species, some additional rules should be observed:
1. Each distinct kind of bacterium is called a species.
2. To each distinct species a name is given consisting usually of two Latin words, as Bacillus subtilis.
3. The first word is the name of the genus or group to which the organism belongs. It is always written with a capital letter. It is a Latin or latinized Greek
- ↑ The permanent secretary for medical and veterinary bacteriology at the present time is Dr. S. T. Cowan, National Collection of Type Cultures, Central Public Health Laboratory, Colindale Avenue, London, N.W. 9, England. The permanent secretary for general bacteriology at the present time is Dr. T. Wikén, Laboratory for Microbiology, Technical University, Delft, Holland.
- ↑ International Bacteriological Code of Nomenclature. Edited by R. E. Buchanan, R. St. John-Brooks and R. S. Breed. Jour. Bact., 55, 1948, 287-306.
- ↑ In press, 1956.
