Name: Fusobacterium periodonticum Slots et al. 1984

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: pe.ri.o.don’ti.cum. Gr. prep. peri, around; Gr. masc. n. odous, tooth; L. neut. adj. suff. -icum, suffix used with the sense of pertaining to; N.L. neut. adj. periodonticum, pertaining to periodonte

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: fu-so-bak-TE-ri-um pe-ri-o-DON-ti-kum, neuter

Type strain: ATCC 33693; CCUG 14345; DSM 19545; EK1-15; JCM 12991

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AB910749 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Slots J, Potts TV, Mashimo PA. Fusobacterium periodonticum, a new species from the human oral cavity. J Dent Res 1983; 62:960-963.

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Validation list no. 14. Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1984; 34:270-271.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 2

• Notes:
  • 😷 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 2023-10-29. 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 106 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: Slots J, Potts TV, Mashimo PA. Fusobacterium periodonticum, a new species from the human oral cavity. J Dent Res 1983; 62:960-963.

Linking: To permanently link to this page, use https://doi.org/10.83108/rn.783885Copy to clipboardLink copied to clipboard

Record number: 783885