Name: Fusobacterium gonidiaformans (Tunnicliff and Jackson 1925) Moore and Holdeman 1970 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Bacillus gonidiaformans" Tunnicliff and Jackson 1925

Etymology: go.ni.di.a.for’mans. Gr. fem. n. gonê, offspring, seed, organs of generation; N.L. neut. n. gonidium, gonidium; N.L. neut. pl. n. gonidia, gonidia; L. pres. part. formans, forming; N.L. neut. part. adj. gonidiaformans, gonidia forming [probably better: gonidiiformans]

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: fu-so-bak-TE-ri-um go-ni-di-a-FOR-mans, neuter

Type strain: ATCC 25563; CCUG 16790; DSM 19810

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M58679 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Moore WEC, Holdeman LV. Fusobacterium. In: Cato EP, Cummins CS, Holdeman LV, Johnson JL, Moore WEC, Smibert RM, Smith LDS (eds), Outline of Clinical Methods in Anaerobic Bacteriology, 2nd revision, Virginia Polytechnic Institute - Anaerobe Laboratory, Blacksburg/Virginia, 1970, p. 45-51.

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

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Bacillus gonidiaformans" Tunnicliff and Jackson 1925	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Fusobacterium equinum Dorsch et al. 2001	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Notes:
  • ⏰ According to Fatahi-Bafghi (2024), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Fusobacterium equinum Dorsch et al. 2001. Publication: Fatahi-Bafghi M. Genomic and phylogenomic analysis of Fusobacteriaceae family and proposal to reclassify Fusobacterium naviforme Jungano 1909 into a novel genus as Zandiella naviformis gen. nov., comb. nov. and reclassification of Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. funduliforme as later heterotypic synonym of Fusobacterium necrophorum subsp. necrophorum and Fusobacterium equinum as later heterotypic synonym of Fusobacterium gonidiaformans. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 2024; 117:34. 🇮🇷
  • 🏢 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.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human pathogen". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - 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 Germany has been imported on 2026-08-13. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — 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 23 times in PubMed until 2026-06-11.
  • 🙆 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.
  • 🧍 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. 🇬🇧

Parent taxon: Fusobacterium Knorr 1922 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Moore WEC, Holdeman LV. Fusobacterium. In: Cato EP, Cummins CS, Holdeman LV, Johnson JL, Moore WEC, Smibert RM, Smith LDS (eds), Outline of Clinical Methods in Anaerobic Bacteriology, 2nd revision, Virginia Polytechnic Institute - Anaerobe Laboratory, Blacksburg/Virginia, 1970, p. 45-51.

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Record number: 783877