Name: Rhodospirillales Pfennig and Trüper 1971 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Order

Proposed as: ord. nov.

Etymology: Rho.do.spi.ril.la’les. N.L. neut. dim. n. Rhodospirillum, type genus of the order; L. fem. pl. n. suff. -ales, ending to denote an order; N.L. fem. pl. n. Rhodospirillales, the Rhodospirillum order

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: r^ho-do-spi-ril-LA-les, feminine

Type genus: Rhodospirillum Molisch 1907 (Approved Lists 1980)

Effective publication: Pfennig N, Trüper HG. Higher Taxa of the Phototrophic Bacteria. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1971; 21:17-18.

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

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Oceanibaculales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Azospirillales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Dongiales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    "Defluviicoccales" Fieschi-Meric 2022	heterotypic synonym, not validly published
    Thalassobaculales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Reyranellales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Kiloniellales Wiese et al. 2009	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Tistrellales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    "Diaforabacterales" Degli Esposti et al. 2019	heterotypic synonym, not validly published
    Elsterales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Acetobacterales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Geminicoccales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Zavarziniales Chuvochina et al. 2024	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Emendations:
  • Hördt et al. 2020 Hordt A, Lopez MG, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Schleuning M, Weinhold LM, Tindall BJ, Gronow S, Kyrpides NC, Woyke T, Goker M. Analysis of 1,000+ Type-Strain Genomes Substantially Improves Taxonomic Classification of Alphaproteobacteria. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:468. 🇩🇪 Oren A, Garrity GM. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 32. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:4061-4090.
    Notes:
    • ⊕ Emendation accompanied by the inclusion of 11 families in the order.
    • ⊖ Emendation accompanied by the removal of 2 genera from the order.

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the class Anoxyphotobacteria (Gibbons and Murray 1978) Murray 1988. 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 subclass Anoxyphotobacteriae Gibbons and Murray 1978 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Gibbons NE, Murray RGE. Proposals Concerning the Higher Taxa of Bacteria. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1978; 28:1-6.
  • 🧕 Ferla et al. (2013) assigned this order to the subclass "Caulobacteridae" Ferla et al. 2013. Publication: Ferla MP, Thrash JC, Giovannoni SJ, Patrick WM. New rRNA gene-based phylogenies of the Alphaproteobacteria provide perspective on major groups, mitochondrial ancestry and phylogenetic instability. PLoS One 2013; 8:e83383. 🇳🇿
  • 🧕 Gibbons and Murray (1978) assigned this order to the subclass Anoxyphotobacteriae Gibbons and Murray 1978 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Gibbons NE, Murray RGE. Proposals Concerning the Higher Taxa of Bacteria. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1978; 28:1-6.
  • 🧒 Castelli and Petroni (2025) assigned the family "Candidatus Hepatincolaceae" Szokoli et al. 2016 to this order. Publication: Castelli M, Petroni G. An Evolutionary-Focused Review of the Holosporales (Alphaproteobacteria): Diversity, Host Interactions, and Taxonomic Re-ranking as Holosporineae Subord. Nov. Microb Ecol 2025; 88:15. 🇮🇹
  • 🧒 Castelli and Petroni (2025) assigned the suborder Holosporineae (Szokoli et al. 2020) Castelli and Petroni 2025 to this order. Publication: Castelli M, Petroni G. An Evolutionary-Focused Review of the Holosporales (Alphaproteobacteria): Diversity, Host Interactions, and Taxonomic Re-ranking as Holosporineae Subord. Nov. Microb Ecol 2025; 88:15. 🇮🇹
  • 🧒 Habib et al. (2020) assigned the family Elioraeaceae Habib et al. 2020 to this order. Publication: Habib N, Khan IU, Xiao M, Hejazi MS, Tarhriz V, Zhi XY, Li WJ. Elioraea thermophila sp. nov., a thermophilic bacterium from hot spring of the class Alphaproteobacteria, emended description of the genus Elioraea and proposal of Elioraeaceae fam. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:1300-1306. 🇨🇳
  • 🧒 Hördt et al. (2020) assigned the family Stellaceae Hördt et al. 2020 to this order. Publication: Hordt A, Lopez MG, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Schleuning M, Weinhold LM, Tindall BJ, Gronow S, Kyrpides NC, Woyke T, Goker M. Analysis of 1,000+ Type-Strain Genomes Substantially Improves Taxonomic Classification of Alphaproteobacteria. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:468. 🇩🇪
  • 🧒 Koziaeva et al. (2023) assigned the family Magnetospirillaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023 to this order. Publication: Koziaeva VV, Sorokin DY, Kolganova TV, Grouzdev DS. Magnetospirillum sulfuroxidans sp. nov., capable of sulfur-dependent lithoautotrophy and a taxonomic reevaluation of the order Rhodospirillales. Syst Appl Microbiol 2023; 46:126406. 🇷🇺
  • 🧒 Pfennig and Trüper (1971) assigned the genus Rhodospirillum Molisch 1907 (Approved Lists 1980) to this order. Publication: Pfennig N, Trüper HG. Higher Taxa of the Phototrophic Bacteria. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1971; 21:17-18.
  • 🧒 Yilmaz et al. (2014) assigned the genus Elioraea Albuquerque et al. 2008 to this order. Publication: Yilmaz P, Parfrey LW, Yarza P, Gerken J, Pruesse E, Quast C, Schweer T, Peplies J, Ludwig W, Glöckner FO. The SILVA and “all-species living tree project (LTP)” taxonomic frameworks. Nucleic Acids Research 2014; 42(D1):D643-D648. 🇩🇪
  • 🧒 Yilmaz et al. (2014) assigned the genus Reyranella Pagnier et al. 2011 to this order. Publication: Yilmaz P, Parfrey LW, Yarza P, Gerken J, Pruesse E, Quast C, Schweer T, Peplies J, Ludwig W, Glöckner FO. The SILVA and “all-species living tree project (LTP)” taxonomic frameworks. Nucleic Acids Research 2014; 42(D1):D643-D648. 🇩🇪
  • 🙄 This taxon name is occasionally misprinted (or affected by an OCR error) in some sources as: "Rhodopirillales"; "Rhodospirilliales"; "Rhodosprilllales".
  • 🧔 This taxon was discussed in a meeting of a Taxonomic Subcommittee of the ICSP. Publication: Madigan MT, Imhoff JF. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes: Subcommittee on the taxonomy of phototrophic bacteria. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 2007; 57:1169-1171. 🇺🇸
  • 💁 Taxonomists who have recently focused on this group are the corresponding authors of Peng et al. (2024). 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: 276; JCM: 219; LMG: 218; NBRC: 164; KCTC: 145; ATCC: 140; CIP: 89; KACC: 64; IFO: 63; BCC: 61.
  • 🧍 This name was mentioned in a Request for an Opinion. Publication: Goker M. Solving the remaining problems with names of classes. Request for an Opinion. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2022; 72:5605. 🇩🇪
  • 🧍 On the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, and on the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names (Amended Edition), the type genus of the order Rhodospirillales Pfennig and Trüper 1971, is incorrectly cited as Rhodospirillum Molisch 1904 (sic). Publication: Euzéby JP. Corrigenda to the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names and to the amended edition of the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1997; 47:1271-1272.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 16
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 31
Total number of child taxa: 34

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Acetobacteraceae (ex Henrici 1939) Gillis and De Ley 1980	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Acidocellaceae Degli Esposti et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Aestuariispiraceae Hu et al. 2025	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Allostellaceae Deshmukh and Oren 2025	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Azospirillaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    "Defluviicoccaceae" Fieschi-Meric 2022	not validly published	synonym
    Dongiaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Elioraeaceae Habib et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Elsteraceae Chuvochina et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Fodinicurvataceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Geminicoccaceae Proença et al. 2018	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Inquilinaceae Chuvochina et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Kiloniellaceae Wiese et al. 2009	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Magnetospiraceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Magnetospirillaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Magnetovibrionaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Nisaeaceae Chuvochina et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    "Niveispirillaceae" Koziaeva et al. 2023	not validly published	synonym
    Novispirillaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Oceanibaculaceae Koziaeva et al. 2023	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Oleispirillaceae Peng et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Reyranellaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Rhodospirillaceae Pfennig and Trüper 1971 (Approved Lists 1980)	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    [Rhodospirillales, not assigned to family]	artificial parent node of taxa incertae sedis
    Rhodovibrionaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Roseiterribacteraceae Nakai et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Roseomonadaceae Degli Esposti et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Shumkoniaceae Yang et al. 2025	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Stellaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP, illegitimate name	synonym
    Terasakiellaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Thalassobaculaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Thalassospiraceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Tistrellaceae Chuvochina et al. 2024	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Zavarziniaceae Hördt et al. 2020	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Alphaproteobacteria Garrity et al. 2006

Assigned by: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn T. Class I. Alphaproteobacteria class. nov. In: Brenner DJ, Krieg NR, Staley JT, Garrity GM (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, 2nd edn, vol. 2 (The Proteobacteria), part C (The Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria), Springer, New York, 2005, p. 1. 🇺🇸

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Record number: 5025