Name: Methylobacter Bowman et al. 1993

Category: Genus

Proposed as: gen. nov.

Etymology: Me.thy.lo.bac’ter. N.L. neut. n. methylum, the methyl group; from French masc. n. méthyle; from French masc. n. méthylène; from Gr. neut. n. methy, wine; from Gr. fem. n. hylê, wood; N.L. neut. n. methyl, pertaining to the methyl radical; N.L. masc. n. bacter, rod; N.L. masc. n. Methylobacter, methyl rod

Gender, pronunciation: masculine (stem: Methylobacter-), me-t^hy-lo-BAK-ter

Type species: Methylobacter luteus (Romanovskaya et al. 1981) Bowman et al. 1993

Conduct genome-based taxonomy of genus at TYGS

16S rRNA gene: Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Bowman JP, Sly LI, Nichols PD, Hayward AC. Revised taxonomy of the methanotrophs: description of Methylobacter gen. nov., emendation of Methylococcus, validation of Methylosinus and Methylocystis species, and a proposal that the family Methylococcaceae includes only the group I methanotrophs. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1993; 43:735-753.

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 43, part 4 of the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1994; 44:184.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

• Emendations:
  • Bowman et al. 1995 Bowman JP, Sly LI, Stackebrandt E. The phylogenetic position of the family Methylococcaceae. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1995; 45:182-185. Anonymous. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 45, part 1 of the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1995; 45:420.
    Notes:
    • ⊖ Emendation accompanied by the removal of 3 species from the genus.

• Notes:
  • 🚋 The type species of this genus has alternatively been placed in the genus Methylococcus Foster and Davis 1966 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Romanovskaia VA, Malashenko IuR, Bogachenko VN. [Refinement of the diagnosis of the genera and species of methane-using bacteria]. Mikrobiologiia 1978; 47:120-130.
  • 🙄 This taxon name is occasionally misprinted (or affected by an OCR error) in some sources as: "Mefhylobacter"; "Mehylobacter"; "Melhylobacter"; "Methyllobacter"; "Metlzylobacter"; "Mothylobacter".
  • 🎰 The BRCs most frequently used for deposits in this group are: NCIMB: 6; ATCC: 5; DSM: 5; VKM: 4; B: 2; JCM: 1; BG: 1; LMG: 1.
  • 🧍 A genome-scale phylogenetic analysis of the order Methylococcales was conducted by Orata et al. (2018). Publication: Orata FD, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Sauvageau D, Stein LY. Phylogenomic Analysis of the Gammaproteobacterial Methanotrophs (Order Methylococcales) Calls for the Reclassification of Members at the Genus and Species Levels. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:3162.
  • 🧍 Pittman et al. (1991) suggested the abbreviation "MLBA" for this genus name but this does not appear to be of practical relevance any longer. Publication: Pittman KF, Walczak CA, Lock CM. Codes and abbreviations for approved of effectively published names of genera of bacteria published from January 1980 to December 1990. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1991; 41:571-579.
  • 🧍 See also Bowman et al. (1994). Publication: Bowman JP, Sly LI, Nichols PD, Hayward AC. Revised Taxonomy of the Methanotrophs: Description of Methylobacter gen. nov., Emendation of Methylococcus, Validation of Methylosinus and Methylocystis Species, and a Proposal that the Family Methylococcaceae Includes Only the Group I Methanotrophs. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1994; 44:375-375.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 7
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 10
Total number of child taxa: 20

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Methylobacter agilis (ex Whittenbury et al. 1970) Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Methylobacter albus (ex Whittenbury 1970) Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    "Methylobacter alcaliphilus" Khmelenina et al. 1997	not validly published	synonym
    Methylobacter arcticus Rissanen et al. 2025	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Methylobacter capsulatus" Whittenbury et al. 1970	not validly published	preferred name
    "Methylobacter chroococcum" Whittenbury et al. 1970	not validly published	preferred name
    "Candidatus Methylobacter coli" Khatri et al. 2021	not validly published	pro-correct name
    "Candidatus Methylobacter favarea" Hogendoorn et al. 2021	inaccurate spelling	misspelling
    "Candidatus Methylobacter favarensis" corrig. Hogendoorn et al. 2021	not validly published	pro-correct name
    Methylobacter luteus (Romanovskaya et al. 1981) Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Methylobacter marinus Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Methylobacter modestohalophilus" Kalyuzhnaya et al. 1998	not validly published	preferred name
    "Candidatus Methylobacter oryzae" Khatri et al. 2020	not validly published	pro-correct name
    Methylobacter pelagicus (Sieburth et al. 1988) Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Methylobacter psychrophilus Omel'chenko et al. 2000	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Methylobacter svalbardensis Patil et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Candidatus Methylobacter titanis" Roldán and Menes 2023	not validly published	preferred name
    Methylobacter tundripaludum Wartiainen et al. 2006	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Methylobacter vinelandii" Whittenbury et al. 1970	not validly published	preferred name
    Methylobacter whittenburyi (Romanovskaya et al. 1981) Bowman et al. 1993	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Methylococcaceae Whittenbury and Krieg 1984

Assigned by: Bowman JP, Sly LI, Nichols PD, Hayward AC. Revised taxonomy of the methanotrophs: description of Methylobacter gen. nov., emendation of Methylococcus, validation of Methylosinus and Methylocystis species, and a proposal that the family Methylococcaceae includes only the group I methanotrophs. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1993; 43:735-753.

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Record number: 516059