Name: Mollicutes Edward and Freundt 1967 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Class

Proposed as: class. nov.

Etymology: L. masc./fem. adj. mollis, easily movable, pliant, flexible; L. fem. n. cutis, the skin; L. fem. pl. n. cutes, skins; N.L. fem. pl. n. Mollicutes, class with pliable cell boundary (not derived from a genus name)

Gender: feminine

Type genus: Mycoplasma Nowak 1929 (Approved Lists 1980)

Effective publication: Edward DGf, Freundt EA. Proposal for Mollicutes as Name of the class established for the order Mycoplasmatales. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1967; 17:267-268.

IJSEM list: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

• Emendations:
  • Gupta et al. 2018 Gupta RS, Sawnani S, Adeolu M, Alnajar S, Oren A. Phylogenetic framework for the phylum Tenericutes based on genome sequence data: proposal for the creation of a new order Mycoplasmoidales ord. nov., containing two new families Mycoplasmoidaceae fam. nov. and Metamycoplasmataceae fam. nov. harbouring Eperythrozoon, Ureaplasma and five novel genera. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2018; 111:1583-1630. Oren A, Garrity GM. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 29. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2019; 69:13-32.
    Notes:
    • ⊕ Emendation accompanied by the inclusion of 6 orders in the class.
  • Gupta et al. 2019 Gupta RS, Son J, Oren A. A phylogenomic and molecular markers based taxonomic framework for members of the order Entomoplasmatales: proposal for an emended order Mycoplasmatales containing the family Spiroplasmataceae and emended family Mycoplasmataceae comprised of six genera. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2019; 112:561-588. Oren A, Garrity GM. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 30. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2019; 69:1850-1851.
    Notes:
    • ⊕ Emendation accompanied by the inclusion of 5 orders in the class.

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the division "Tenericutes" Murray 1984. Publication: Murray RGE. The higher taxa, or, a place for everything..? In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, vol. 1., The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1984, p. 31-34.
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the phylum "Mollicutaeota" Oren et al. 2015. Publication: Oren A, da Costa MS, Garrity GM, Rainey FA, Rossello-Mora R, Schink B, Sutcliffe I, Trujillo ME, Whitman WB. Proposal to include the rank of phylum in the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2015; 65:4284-4287.
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the phylum "Mollicutota" Whitman et al. 2018. Publication: Whitman WB, Oren A, Chuvochina M, da Costa MS, Garrity GM, Rainey FA, Rossello-Mora R, Schink B, Sutcliffe I, Trujillo ME, et al. Proposal of the suffix -ota to denote phyla. Addendum to 'Proposal to include the rank of phylum in the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes'. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2018; 68:967-969.
  • 🧕 Boone et al. (2001) assigned this class to the phylum "Firmicutes" (Gibbons and Murray 1978) Garrity and Holt 2001. Publication: Garrity GM, Holt JG. The Road Map to the Manual. In: Boone DR, Castenholz RW, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, second edition, vol. 1 (The Archaea and the deeply branching and phototrophic Bacteria), Springer-Verlag, New York, 2001, p. 119-166.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (1998) assigned this class to the infraphylum "Endobacteria" Cavalier-Smith 1998. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. A revised six-kingdom system of life. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 1998; 73:203-266.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (1998) assigned this class to the subphylum "Teichobacteria" Cavalier-Smith 1998. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. A revised six-kingdom system of life. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 1998; 73:203-266.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (2002) assigned this class to the division "Posibacteria" Cavalier-Smith 2002. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. The neomuran origin of archaebacteria, the negibacterial root of the universal tree and bacterial megaclassification. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2002; 52:7-76.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (2002) assigned this class to the subdivision "Endobacteria" Cavalier-Smith 2002. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. The neomuran origin of archaebacteria, the negibacterial root of the universal tree and bacterial megaclassification. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2002; 52:7-76.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (2002) assigned this class to the subphylum "Endobacteria". Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. The neomuran origin of archaebacteria, the negibacterial root of the universal tree and bacterial megaclassification. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2002; 52:7-76.
  • 🧕 Cavalier-Smith (2006) assigned this class to the subphylum "Endobacteria". Publication: Cavalier-Smith T. Rooting the tree of life by transition analyses. Biol Direct 2006; 1:19.
  • 🧕 Krieg et al. (2010) assigned this class to the phylum "Tenericutes" (Murray 1984) Brown 2010. Publication: Paster BJ. Class I. Spirochaetia class. nov. In: Krieg NR, Staley JT, Brown DR, Hedlund BP, Paster BJ, et al. (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology. The Bacteroidetes, Spirochaetes, Tenericutes (Mollicutes), Acidobacteria, Fibrobacteres, Fusobacteria, Dictyoglomi, Gemmatimonadetes, Lentisphaerae, Verrucomicrobia, Chlamydiae, and Planctomycetes, vol. 4, 2nd ed., Springer, New York, 2010, p. 471-563.
  • 🧕 Murray (1984) assigned this class to the division "Tenericutes" Murray 1984. Publication: Murray RGE. The higher taxa, or, a place for everything..? In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, first edition, vol. 1, The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1984, p. 31-34.
  • 🧕 Murray (1984) assigned this class to the phylum "Tenericutes". Publication: Murray RGE. The higher taxa, or, a place for everything..? In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, first edition, vol. 1, The Williams & Wilkins Co., Baltimore, 1984, p. 31-34.
  • 🧒 Gupta et al. (2018) assigned the order Entomoplasmatales Tully et al. 1993 to this class. Publication: Gupta RS, Sawnani S, Adeolu M, Alnajar S, Oren A. Phylogenetic framework for the phylum Tenericutes based on genome sequence data: proposal for the creation of a new order Mycoplasmoidales ord. nov., containing two new families Mycoplasmoidaceae fam. nov. and Metamycoplasmataceae fam. nov. harbouring Eperythrozoon, Ureaplasma and five novel genera. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2018; 111:1583-1630.
  • 🚃 The type genus of this class has alternatively been placed in the class "Bacillia" Cavalier-Smith 2020. Publication: Cavalier-Smith T, Chao EE. Multidomain ribosomal protein trees and the planctobacterial origin of neomura (eukaryotes, archaebacteria). Protoplasma 2020; 257:621-753.
  • 🙄 This taxon name is occasionally misprinted (or affected by an OCR error) in some sources as: "Mallicutes"; "Moflicutes"; "Molicutes"; "Mollecutes"; "Mollicufes"; "Mollicules"; "Mollicure"; "Mollicures"; "Mollicute"; "Mollzcutes"; "Molticutes"; "Mullicutes".
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 1972. Publication: International C, Subcommittee O. Proposal for minimal standards for descriptions of new species of the order Mycoplasmatales. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1972; 22:184-188.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 1972. Publication: Edward DG, Freundt EA, Chanock RM, Fabricant J, Hayflick L, Lemcke RM, Razin S, Somerson NL, Tully JG, Wittler RG. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TAXONOMY OF MYCOPLASMATALES. Proposal for minimal standards for descriptions of new species of the order Mycoplasmatales. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1972; 22:184-188.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 1979. Publication: Freundt EA, Whitcomb RF, Barile MF, BOVé JM, Cottew GS, ERNö H, Lemcke R, Maniloff J, Neimark H, Razin S, et al. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TAXONOMY OF MOLLICUTES. Proposal of minimal standards for descriptions of new species of the class Mollicutes. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1979; 29:172-180.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 1995. Publication: International C, Subcommittee O. Revised minimum standards for description of new species of the class Mollicutes (Division Tenericutes). Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1995; 45:605-612.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 1995. Publication: Whitcomb RF, Tully JG, BOVé JM, Bradbury JM, Christiansen G, Kahane I, Kirkpatrick BC, Laigret F, Leach RH, Neimark HC, et al. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TAXONOMY OF MOLLICUTES. Revised minimum standards for description of new species of the class Mollicutes (Division Tenericutes). Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1995; 45:605-612.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 2007. Publication: Whitcomb RF. Evolution and devolution of minimal standards for descriptions of species of the class Mollicutes: analysis of two Spiroplasma descriptions. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2007; 57:201-206.
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 2007. Publication: Brown DR, Whitcomb RF, Bradbury JM. Revised minimal standards for description of new species of the class Mollicutes (division Tenericutes). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2007; 57:2703-2719.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Bradbury JM. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes. Subcommittee on the taxonomy of mollicutes. Minutes of the interim meetings, 13 and 19 July 2000, Fukuoka, Japan. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2001; 51:2227-2230.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: May M, Brown DR. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Mollicutes. Minutes of the closed meeting, 3rd July 2016, Brisbane, Australia. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2017; 67:2482-2484.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Johansson KE. International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Mollicutes. Minutes of the meetings, 21 and 28 July 1998, Sydney, Australia. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2000; 50:1393-1397.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Brown DR, Bradbury JM. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes: Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Mollicutes. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 2007; 57:192-196.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Brown DR, Bradbury JM. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes; Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Mollicutes. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 2007; 57:192-196.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Anonymous NN. International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Mollicutes: Minutes of the Interim Meetings, 1 and 2 August, 1992, Ames, Iowa. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1993; 43:394-397.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Tully J. International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology: Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Mollicutes. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1993; 43:394-397.
  • 🎰 The BRCs most frequently used for deposits in this group are: ATCC: 370; NCTC: 259; DSM: 132; CIP: 61; NBRC: 58; IFO: 50; CCUG: 8; JCM: 1; NCPPB: 1; CAIM: 1.
  • 🧍 In 2020 this name was subject to a critical comment on a Request for an Opinion. Publication: Gupta RS, Oren A. Necessity and rationale for the proposed name changes in the classification of Mollicutes species. Reply to: 'Recommended rejection of the names Malacoplasma gen. nov., Mesomycoplasma gen. nov., Metamycoplasma gen. nov., Metamycoplasmataceae fam. nov., Mycoplasmoidaceae fam. nov., Mycoplasmoidales ord. nov., Mycoplasmoides gen. nov., Mycoplasmopsis gen. nov. [Gupta, Sawnani, Adeolu, Alnajar and Oren 2018] and all proposed species comb. nov. placed therein', by M. Balish et al. (Int J Syst Evol Microbiol, 2019;69:3650-3653). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:1431-1438.
  • 🧍 Irregularly formed name (not formed from the stem of the name of the nomenclatural type). Publication: Oren A, Arahal DR, Goker M, Moore ERB, Rossello-Mora R, Sutcliffe IC. International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Prokaryotic Code (2022 Revision). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:5585.
  • 🧍 Nomenclatural type changed from Mycoplasmatales Freundt 1955 (Approved Lists 1980) based on new Rule 22. Publication: Oren A. Emendation of Rules 8, 15, 22, 25a, 30(3)(b), 30(4), 34a, and Appendix 7 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:6070.
  • 🧍 The nomenclatural type was confirmed in Judicial Opinion 128. Rule 8 of the 2022 revision of the ICNP does not require that the name of a class validly published before 1 January 2012 be formed from the stem of the name of the type genus of the type order of the class plus the ending ia. This class name is orthographically correct. Publication: Goker M. Solving the remaining problems with names of classes. Request for an Opinion. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2022; 72:5605.
  • 🧍 This name was mentioned in a Request for an Opinion. Publication: Oren A, Parte A, Garrity GM. Implementation of Rule 8 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes for the renaming of classes. Request for an Opinion. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2016; 66:4296-4298.
  • 🧍 The class Mollicutes may be regarded as in conflict with Rules 15, 22 and 27(3) because it was proposed without the designation of a nomenclatural type. However, according to Tindall (2014) the type is Mycoplasmatales even though it was not mentioned in the Approved Lists. Publication: Tindall BJ. Names at the rank of class, subclass and order, their typification and current status: Supplementary information to Opinion 79. Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2014; 64:3599-3602.
  • 🧍 This name was subject to a Request for an Opinion. The Request by Balish et al. (2019) was denied in Opinion 122 because it was concluded that the Request was based on a misinterpretation of the Code. Publication: Balish M, Bertaccini A, Blanchard A, Brown D, Browning G, Chalker V, Frey J, Gasparich G, Hoelzle L, Knight T, et al. Recommended rejection of the names Malacoplasma gen. nov., Mesomycoplasma gen. nov., Metamycoplasma gen. nov., Metamycoplasmataceae fam. nov., Mycoplasmoidaceae fam. nov., Mycoplasmoidales ord. nov., Mycoplasmoides gen. nov., Mycoplasmopsis gen. nov. [Gupta, Sawnani, Adeolu, Alnajar and Oren 2018] and all proposed species comb. nov. placed therein. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2019; 69:3650-3653.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 5
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 6
Total number of child taxa: 9

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Acholeplasmatales Freundt et al. 1984	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Anaeroplasmatales Robinson and Freundt 1987	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Anulomycetales" Sabin 1941	not validly published	synonym (and no standing)
    "Borrelomycetales" Turner 1935	not validly published	synonym (and no standing)
    Entomoplasmatales Tully et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Haloplasmatales Rainey et al. 2008	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    [Mollicutes, not assigned to order]	artificial parent node of taxa incertae sedis
    Mycoplasmatales Freundt 1955 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Mycoplasmoidales Gupta et al. 2018	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Mycoplasmatota Murray 2021

Assigned by: Oren A, Garrity GM. Valid publication of the names of forty-two phyla of prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2021; 71:5056.

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Record number: 55