Name: Fusobacterium nucleatum Knorr 1922 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: nu.cle.a’tum. L. neut. adj. nucleatum, having a kernel or stone, intended to mean nucleated

Gender: neuter

Type strain: ATCC 25586; CCUG 32989; CCUG 33059; CIP 101130; DSM 15643; JCM 8532; LMG 13131

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M58683 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Knorr M. Über die fusospirillare Symbiose, die Gattung Fusobacterium (K.B. Lehmann) und Spirillum sputigenum. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Bakteriologie der Mundhöhle. II. Mitteilung. Die Gattung Fusobacterium. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene, Abteilung I 1922; 89:4-22.

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

Risk group: 2

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Fusobacterium Knorr 1922 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Knorr M. Über die fusospirillare Symbiose, die Gattung Fusobacterium (K.B. Lehmann) und Spirillum sputigenum. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Bakteriologie der Mundhöhle. II. Mitteilung. Die Gattung Fusobacterium. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene, Abteilung I 1922; 89:4-22.
  • 😷 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: 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. — 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 3849 times in PubMed until 2024-03-27.
  • 🧍 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 2022; 168:0.
  • 🧍 Subsequently, this species has been divided into subspecies (see: below). — During the meeting, 29 July 2002, Paris, the members of the "Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Gram-negative anaerobic rods" were of the opinion that the subspecies of Fusobacterium nucleatum, which have been questioned periodically, are valid and have now been confirmed by sequencing of the spacer region of the 16S-23S rDNA. Publication: Olsen I, Shah HN. International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes Subcommittee on the taxonomy of Gram-negative anaerobic rods. Minutes of the meeting, 29 July 2002, Paris, France. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol. 2003; 53:923-924.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 2
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 5
Total number of child taxa: 5

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. animalis Gharbia and Shah 1992	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. fusiforme (ex Veillon and Zuber 1898) Gharbia and Shah 1992	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum (Knorr 1922) Dzink et al. 1990	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. vincentii (ex Knorr 1922) Dzink et al. 1990	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum (ex Knorr 1922) Dzink et al. 1990	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Fusobacterium Knorr 1922 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Knorr M. Über die fusospirillare Symbiose, die Gattung Fusobacterium (K.B. Lehmann) und Spirillum sputigenum. Zugleich ein Beitrag zur Bakteriologie der Mundhöhle. II. Mitteilung. Die Gattung Fusobacterium. Zentralblatt für Bakteriologie, Parasitenkunde, Infektionskrankheiten und Hygiene, Abteilung I 1922; 89:4-22.

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Record number: 783882