Name: Alcaligenes faecalis Castellani and Chalmers 1919 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: fae.ca’lis. L. fem. n. faex (gen. faecis), dregs, faeces; L. masc./fem. adj. suff. -alis, suffix denoting pertaining to; N.L. masc. adj. faecalis, pertaining to faeces, fecal

Pronunciation, gender: fa͡e-KA-lis, masculine

Type strain: ATCC 8750; CCUG 1814; CIP 55.84; CIP 60.80; DSM 30030; HAMBI 1907; IFO 13111; JCM 1474; JCM 20522; JCM 20663; LMG 1229; NBIMCC 153; NBRC 13111; NCAIM B.01104; NCIB 8156; NCIMB 8156; NCTC 11953; VKM B-1518

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: D88008 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Castellani A, Chalmers AJ. Manual of Tropical Medicine, 3rd ed. Williams Wood and Co., New York, 1919.

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 (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 2

• Emendations:
  • Hendrie et al. 1974 Hendrie MS, Holding AJ, Shewan JM. Emended descriptions of the genus Alcaligenes and of Alcaligenes faecalis and proposal that the generic name Achromobacter be rejected. Status of the named species of Alcaligenes and Achromobacter. Request for an opinion. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1974; 24:534-550.
    Notes:
    • 🧍 As of 2023-10-12 this emendation was not yet included in an IJSEM List of Changes in Taxonomic Opinion.
  • Rehfuss and Urban 2005 Rehfuss M, Urban J. Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus subsp. nov. a phenol-degrading, denitrifying bacterium isolated from a graywater bioprocessor. Syst Appl Microbiol 2005; 28:421-429. 🇺🇸 Euzeby JP. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 3. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2006; 56:11.
  • Machado et al. 2023 Machado RAR, Loulou A, Bhat AH, Mastore M, Terrettaz C, et al. Acinetobacter nematophilus sp. nov., Alcaligenes nematophilus sp. nov., Enterobacter nematophilus sp. nov., and Kaistia nematophila sp. nov., isolated from soil-borne nematodes and proposal for the elevation of Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis, Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. parafaecalis, and Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus to the species level. Taxonomy 2023; 3:148-168. 🇨🇭 Oren A, Göker M. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 38. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:5923.

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Alcaligenes Castellani and Chalmers 1919 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Castellani A, Chalmers AJ. Manual of Tropical Medicine, 3rd ed. Williams Wood and Co., New York, 1919.
  • 😩 Deposit incorrectly indicated in some sources as representing the type strain of this taxon: DSM 16503.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 2 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "P650 = v". — 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 964 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙆 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as the name to be applied to this species. The name is on LoRN because of the recorded risk group of the species itself.
  • ⚠ This name is retained (and recommended for medical use. This will change in the future) instead of Alcaligenes parafaecalis (Schroll et al. 2001) Machado et al. 2023. Publication: Machado RAR, Loulou A, Bhat AH, Mastore M, Terrettaz C, et al. Acinetobacter nematophilus sp. nov., Alcaligenes nematophilus sp. nov., Enterobacter nematophilus sp. nov., and Kaistia nematophila sp. nov., isolated from soil-borne nematodes and proposal for the elevation of Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis, Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. parafaecalis, and Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus to the species level. Taxonomy 2023; 3:148-168. 🇨🇭 Oren A, Göker M. Validation list no. 212. List of new names and new combinations previously effectively, but not validly, published. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:5931.
  • 🧍 According to Bartlett et al. (2022), this species is an established human pathogen. Publication: Bartlett A, Padfield D, Lear L, Bendall R, Vos M. A comprehensive list of bacterial pathogens infecting humans. Microbiology (Reading) 2022; 168:0. 🇬🇧
  • 🧍 See also Jackwood et al. (1985). Publication: Jackwood MW, Saif YM, Moorhead PD, Dearth RN. Further characterization of the agent causing coryza in turkeys. Avian Dis 1985; 29:690-705.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 3
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 4
Total number of child taxa: 5

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    "Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis" (Castellani and Chalmers 1919) Schroll et al. 2001	not validly published	synonym
    Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. faecalis (Castellani and Chalmers 1919) Austin et al. 1981	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. homari Austin et al. 1981	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. parafaecalis Schroll et al. 2001	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Alcaligenes faecalis subsp. phenolicus Rehfuss and Urban 2006	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Alcaligenes Castellani and Chalmers 1919 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Castellani A, Chalmers AJ. Manual of Tropical Medicine, 3rd ed. Williams Wood and Co., New York, 1919.

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Record number: 773011