Name: Agrobacterium rhizogenes (Riker et al. 1930) Conn 1942 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Phytomonas rhizogenes" Riker et al. 1930

Etymology: rhi.zo’ge.nes. Gr. fem. n. rhiza, root; Gr. suff. -genes, producing; from Gr. ind. v. gennaô, to produce; N.L. neut. part. adj. rhizogenes, root-producing

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: a-gro-bak-TE-ri-um r^hi-ZO-ge-nes, neuter

Type strain: ATCC 11325; CECT 4117; CFBP 5520; CIP 104328; DSM 30148; HAMBI 1816; ICMP 5794; IFO 13257; JCM 20919; LMG 150; NBRC 13257; NCPPB 2991

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: D14501 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Conn HJ. Validity of the Genus Alcaligenes. J Bacteriol 1942; 44:353-360.

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: synonym (and not recommended for medical use)

Correct name: Rhizobium rhizogenes (Riker et al. 1930) Young et al. 2001

Risk group: 1

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Martinezella rhizogenes (Riker et al. 1930) Naranjo-Robayo et al. 2026	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    "Phytomonas rhizogenes" Riker et al. 1930	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Rhizobium rhizogenes (Riker et al. 1930) Young et al. 2001	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Emendations:
  • Sawada et al. 1993 Sawada H, Ieki H, Oyaizu H, Matsumoto S. Proposal for rejection of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and revised descriptions for the genus Agrobacterium and for Agrobacterium radiobacter and Agrobacterium rhizogenes. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1993; 43:694-702. 🇯🇵
    Notes:
    • 😢 The terminology used by the authors is in line with many other taxonomic studies and does not negatively affect their main results; some improvements may nevertheless be possible. Contrasting the term "chemotaxonomic" with "phenotypic" is not recommended. Using the term "phylogenetic data" (or equivalent) for sequence data is not advocated. See the LPSN phylogeny page for details.
    • 🧍 This emendation was not found in the expected IJSEM notification list.

• Notes:
  • ❗ Agrobacterium rhizogenes is the correct name instead if this species is regarded as a separate species (i.e., if its nomenclatural type is not assigned to another species whose name is validly published, legitimate and not rejected and has priority) within a separate genus Agrobacterium.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "plant pathogen - biological class of risk plant: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 1". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2026-08-13. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "p". — If in doubt, use the risk group given in the regulations for your country and, if these are not available, use the risk group given in the catalogue of the culture collection from which you have obtained or intend to obtain the strain.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 0 times in PubMed until 2026-06-11.
  • 🙅 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as a synonym of the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of other species in the genus.
  • 🧍 Plant pathogenic according to Bull et al. (2007). Publication: Bull CT, De Boer SH, Denny TP, Firrao G, Fischer Le Saux M, Saddler GS, Scortichini M, Stead DE, Takikawa Y. Comprehensive list of names of plant pathogenic bacteria, 1980-2007. Journal of Plant Pathology 2010; 92:551-592. 🇺🇸

Parent taxon: Agrobacterium Conn 1942 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Conn HJ. Validity of the Genus Alcaligenes. J Bacteriol 1942; 44:353-360.

Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://doi.org/10.83108/rn.772958Copy to clipboardLink copied to clipboard

Record number: 772958

• Previous versions:

  • Version	Date	JSON
    1	2026-03-31