Name: Bifidobacteriaceae Stackebrandt et al. 1997

Category: Family

Proposed as: fam. nov.

Etymology: Bi.fi.do.bac.te.ri.a’ce.ae. N.L. neut. n. Bifidobacterium, type genus of the family; L. fem. pl. n. suff. -aceae, ending to denote a family; N.L. fem. pl. n. Bifidobacteriaceae, the Bifidobacterium family

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: bi-fi-do-bak-te-ri-A-ke-a͡e, feminine

Type genus: Bifidobacterium Orla-Jensen 1924 (Approved Lists 1980)

Valid publication: Stackebrandt E, Rainey FA, Ward-Rainey NL. Proposal for a new hierarchic classification system, Actinobacteria classis nov. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1997; 47:479-491. 🇩🇪

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 47, part 2 of the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1997; 47:917-919.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

• Emendations:
  • Zhi et al. 2009 Zhi XY, Li WJ, Stackebrandt E. An update of the structure and 16S rRNA gene sequence-based definition of higher ranks of the class Actinobacteria, with the proposal of two new suborders and four new families and emended descriptions of the existing higher taxa. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:589-608. 🇨🇳 Euzeby JP. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 59, part 3 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:1259-1261.
    Notes:
    • ⊕ Emendation accompanied by the inclusion of 5 genera in the family.
  • Kästle Silva et al. 2025 Silva JK, Herve V, Mies US, Platt K, Brune A. A Novel Lineage of Endosymbiotic Actinomycetales: Genome Reduction and Acquisition of New Functions in Bifidobacteriaceae Associated With Termite Gut Flagellates. Environ Microbiol 2025; 27:e70010. 🇩🇪 Oren A, Göker M. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 42. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2025; 75:6793.
    Notes:
    • ⊕ Emendation accompanied by the inclusion of 13 genera in the family.

• Notes:
  • 🧕 Kästle-Silva et al. (2025) assigned this family to the order Actinomycetales Buchanan 1917 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Silva JK, Herve V, Mies US, Platt K, Brune A. A Novel Lineage of Endosymbiotic Actinomycetales: Genome Reduction and Acquisition of New Functions in Bifidobacteriaceae Associated With Termite Gut Flagellates. Environ Microbiol 2025; 27:e70010. 🇩🇪
  • 🧕 Kästle-Silva et al. (2025) assigned this family to the phylum Actinomycetota Goodfellow 2021. Publication: Silva JK, Herve V, Mies US, Platt K, Brune A. A Novel Lineage of Endosymbiotic Actinomycetales: Genome Reduction and Acquisition of New Functions in Bifidobacteriaceae Associated With Termite Gut Flagellates. Environ Microbiol 2025; 27:e70010. 🇩🇪
  • 🧒 Boone et al. (2001) assigned the genus Falcivibrio Hammann et al. 1984 to this family. 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. 🇺🇸
  • 🚃 The type genus of this family has alternatively been placed in the family Actinomycetaceae Buchanan 1918 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Prévot AR. Manuel de Classification et de Détermination des Bactéries Anaérobies, 1st ed. Masson, Paris, 1940.
  • 🚃 The type genus of this family has alternatively been placed in the family Actinomycetaceae Buchanan 1918 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Prevot AR. Études de systématique bactérienne. Annales de l'Institut Pasteur (Paris) 1938; 60:285-230.
  • 🙄 This taxon name is occasionally misprinted (or affected by an OCR error) in some sources as: "Bijidobacteriaceae".
  • 🖹 Minimal standards for the description of new taxa in this group were published in 2014. Publication: Mattarelli P, Holzapfel W, Franz CMAP, Endo A, Felis GE, Hammes W, Pot B, Dicks L, Dellaglio F. Recommended minimal standards for description of new taxa of the genera Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and related genera. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2014; 64:1434-1451. 🇮🇹
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Klein G. International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology. Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and related organisms. Minutes of the meetings, 22 and 23 September 1999, Veldhoven, The Netherlands. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2001; 51:259-261.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Bonaparte C, Klein G. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes. Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and related organisms. Minutes of the meetings, 31 August 2011, Egmond aan Zee, The Netherlands. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2012; 62:2546-2548.
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Mattarelli P, Felis GE, Pot B, Holzapfel WH, Franz CMAP. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and related organisms. Minutes of the closed meeting by videoconference, 3 September 2020. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:5892. 🇮🇹
  • 💁 Taxonomists who have recently focused on this group are the corresponding authors of Pechar et al. (2017). Editors in search of reviewers are advised to consider additional criteria such as whether a taxon is covered by one of the ICSP subcommittees.
  • 🎰 The BRCs most frequently used for deposits in this group are: DSM: 121; LMG: 82; JCM: 82; CCUG: 75; CGMCC: 38; ATCC: 33; BCRC: 33; CCRC: 26; CIP: 20; HAMBI: 17.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 10
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 11
Total number of child taxa: 14

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Aeriscardovia Simpson et al. 2004	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Alloscardovia Huys et al. 2007	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Candidatus Ancillula" Strassert et al. 2012	not validly published	pro-correct name
    Bifidobacterium Orla-Jensen 1924 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Bombiscardovia Killer et al. 2014	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Galliscardovia Pechar et al. 2017	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Gardnerella Greenwood and Pickett 1980	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Metascardovia Okamoto et al. 2007	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Neoscardovia García-Aljaro et al. 2015	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Candidatus Opitulatrix" Kästle Silva and Brune 2025	not validly published	preferred name
    Parascardovia Jian and Dong 2002	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Pseudoscardovia Killer et al. 2014	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Scardovia Jian and Dong 2002	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Candidatus Servula" Kästle Silva and Brune 2025	not validly published	preferred name

Parent taxon: Bifidobacteriales Stackebrandt et al. 1997

Assigned by: Stackebrandt E, Rainey FA, Ward-Rainey NL. Proposal for a new hierarchic classification system, Actinobacteria classis nov. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1997; 47:479-491. 🇩🇪

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Record number: 213