Name: Lactococcus lactis (Lister 1873) Schleifer et al. 1986

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Bacterium lactis" Lister 1873

Etymology: lac’tis. L. gen. neut. n. lactis, of milk

Pronunciation, gender: … LAK-tis, masculine

Type strain: ATCC 19435; CCUG 32211; CCUG 7980; CIP 70.56; DSM 20481; HAMBI 1591; JCM 5805; LMG 6890; NBIMCC 4000; NBRC 100933; NCDO 604; NCFB 604; NCIB 6681; NCIMB 6681; NCTC 6681; VKM B-1662

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M58837 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Schleifer KH, Kraus J, Dvorak C, Kilpper-Balz R, Collins MD, Fischer W. Transfer of Streptococcus lactis and related streptococci to the genus Lactococcus gen. nov. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1985; 6:183-195. 🇩🇪

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Validation list no. 20. Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1986; 36:354-356.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

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

Risk group: 1

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Bacterium lactis" Lister 1873	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Lactobacillus xylosus Kitahara 1938 (Approved Lists 1980)	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Streptococcus lactis (Lister 1873) Löhnis 1909 (Approved Lists 1980)	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Streptococcus lactis subsp. diacetilactis (ex Matuszewski et al. 1936) Garvie and Farrow 1982	heterotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP, distinct rank

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Lactococcus Schleifer et al. 1986. Publication: Schleifer KH, Kraus J, Dvorak C, Kilpper-Balz R, Collins MD, Fischer W. Transfer of Streptococcus lactis and related streptococci to the genus Lactococcus gen. nov. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1985; 6:183-195. 🇩🇪
  • ⏰ According to Schleifer et al. (1985), this species is an earlier heterotypic synonym of Lactobacillus xylosus Kitahara 1938 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Schleifer KH, Kraus J, Dvorak C, Kilpper-Bälz R, Collins MD, Fischer W. Transfer of Streptococcus lactis and related streptococci to the genus Lactococcus gen. nov. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1985; 6:183-195. 🇩🇪
  • 📧 The e-mail address of the corresponding author given in the effective publication is not functional any more.
  • 😷 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 Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 1, 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 6649 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 genus.
  • 🧍 In Validation List no. 20, Lactococcus lactis is erroneously cited as Lactococcus lactis (Löhnis) Schleifer et al. 1986. Publication: Euzeby JP, Kudo T. Corrigenda to the validation lists. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:1933-1938. 🇫🇷

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 2
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 4
Total number of child taxa: 4

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris (Orla-Jensen 1919) Schleifer et al. 1986	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. hordniae (ex Latorre-Guzman et al. 1977) Schleifer et al. 1986	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis (Lister 1873) Schleifer et al. 1986	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
    Lactococcus lactis subsp. tructae Pérez et al. 2011	validly published under the ICNP	synonym

Parent taxon: Lactococcus Schleifer et al. 1986

Assigned by: Schleifer KH, Kraus J, Dvorak C, Kilpper-Balz R, Collins MD, Fischer W. Transfer of Streptococcus lactis and related streptococci to the genus Lactococcus gen. nov. Syst. Appl. Microbiol. 1985; 6:183-195. 🇩🇪

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Record number: 777420