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; N.L. neut. pl. n. Mollicutes, class with pliable cell boundary

Gender: neuter

Type order: Mycoplasmatales Freundt 1955 (Approved Lists 1980)

Original 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

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 5 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:
  • 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.
  • Nomenclatural type of the phylum "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.
  • Boone et al. (2001) assigned this class to the phylum "Firmicutes" corrig. Gibbons and Murray 1978 (Approved Lists 1980). 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 (2002) assigned this class to the subphylum "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.
  • The type order of this class has alternatively been placed in the class Schizomycetes Nägeli 1857 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Parker CD. Genus V. Thiobacillus Beijerinck 1904. In: Breed RS, Murray EGD, Smith NR (eds), Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 7th edition, The Williams & Wilkins Co, Baltimore, 1957, p. 83-88.
  • This taxon name is occasionally misprinted in some sources as: "Mollicules".
  • 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: 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.
  • Irregularly formed name (not formed from the stem of the name of the nomenclatural type). Publication: Parker CT, Tindall BJ, Garrity GM. International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2019; 69:S1-S111.
  • This name was subject to a 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.
  • 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. 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: 6
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 6
Total number of child taxa: 7

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Acholeplasmatales Freundt et al. 1984	validly published	correct name
    Anaeroplasmatales Robinson and Freundt 1987	validly published	correct name
    Entomoplasmatales Tully et al. 1993	validly published	correct name
    Haloplasmatales Rainey et al. 2008	validly published	correct name
    [Mollicutes, not assigned to order]	artificial parent node of taxa incertae sedis
    Mycoplasmatales Freundt 1955 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published	correct name
    Mycoplasmoidales Gupta et al. 2018	validly published	correct name

Parent taxon: "Tenericutes" Murray 1984

Assigned by: 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.

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