Name: Curtobacterium citreum (Komagata and Iizuka 1964) Yamada and Komagata 1972 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: Brevibacterium citreum Komagata and Iizuka 1964 (Approved Lists 1980)

Etymology: cit’re.um. L. neut. adj. citreum, of or pertaining to the citrus-tree, intended to mean lemon colored

Gender: neuter

Type strain: ATCC 15828; CCUG 12163; CCUG 28999; CIP 81.26; DSM 20528; IFO 12677; JCM 1345; LMG 8786; NBRC 12677; VKM B-1207

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: X77436 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Yamada K, Komagata K. Taxonomic studies on coryneform bacteria. V. Classification of coryneform bacteria. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology 1972; 18:417-431.

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: 1

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Brevibacterium citreum Komagata and Iizuka 1964 (Approved Lists 1980)	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Curtobacterium albidum (Komagata and Iizuka 1964) Yamada and Komagata 1972 (Approved Lists 1980)	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Brevibacterium albidum Komagata and Iizuka 1964 (Approved Lists 1980)	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Emendations:
  • Osdaghi et al. 2024 Osdaghi E, Taghavi SM, Hamidizade M, Kariminejhad M, Fazliarab A, Hajian Maleki H, Baeyen S, Taghouti G, Jacques MA, Van Vaerenbergh J, et al. Multiphasic investigations imply transfer of orange-/red-pigmented strains of the bean pathogen Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens to a new species as C. aurantiacum sp. nov., elevation of the poinsettia pathogen C. flaccumfaciens pv. poinsettiae to the species level as C. Poinsettiae sp. nov., and synonymy of C. albidum with C. citreum. Syst Appl Microbiol 2024; 47:126489. Oren A, Göker M. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 40. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2024; 74:6482.
    Notes:
    • 🫂 Emendation accompanied by a proposal regarding the synonymy of the species.
    • 😢 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. The phrase "valid name" is misleading. Whether taxa can have "members" is debatable. See the LPSN phylogeny page for details.

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Curtobacterium Yamada and Komagata 1972 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Yamada K, Komagata K. Taxonomic studies on coryneform bacteria. V. Classification of coryneform bacteria. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology 1972; 18:417-431.
  • ⏰ According to Osdaghi et al. (2024), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Brevibacterium albidum Komagata and Iizuka 1964 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Osdaghi E, Taghavi SM, Hamidizade M, Kariminejhad M, Fazliarab A, Hajian Maleki H, Baeyen S, Taghouti G, Jacques MA, Van Vaerenbergh J, et al. Multiphasic investigations imply transfer of orange-/red-pigmented strains of the bean pathogen Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens to a new species as C. aurantiacum sp. nov., elevation of the poinsettia pathogen C. flaccumfaciens pv. poinsettiae to the species level as C. Poinsettiae sp. nov., and synonymy of C. albidum with C. citreum. Syst Appl Microbiol 2024; 47:126489.
  • ⏰ According to Osdaghi et al. (2024), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Curtobacterium albidum (Komagata and Iizuka 1964) Yamada and Komagata 1972 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Osdaghi E, Taghavi SM, Hamidizade M, Kariminejhad M, Fazliarab A, Hajian Maleki H, Baeyen S, Taghouti G, Jacques MA, Van Vaerenbergh J, et al. Multiphasic investigations imply transfer of orange-/red-pigmented strains of the bean pathogen Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens to a new species as C. aurantiacum sp. nov., elevation of the poinsettia pathogen C. flaccumfaciens pv. poinsettiae to the species level as C. Poinsettiae sp. nov., and synonymy of C. albidum with C. citreum. Syst Appl Microbiol 2024; 47:126489.
  • 🏢 Synonymy of this taxon was mentioned in an IJSEM list. Publication: Oren A, Göker M. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 40. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2024; 74:6482.
  • 🏢 Synonymy of this taxon was mentioned in an IJSEM list. Publication: Oren A, Göker M. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 41. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2025; 75:6561.
  • 😷 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 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — 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 12 times in PubMed until 2024-03-28.
  • 🙆 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 genus.

Parent taxon: Curtobacterium Yamada and Komagata 1972 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Yamada K, Komagata K. Taxonomic studies on coryneform bacteria. V. Classification of coryneform bacteria. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology 1972; 18:417-431.

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Record number: 775325