Species ***Legionella* *pneumophila***

Name: Legionella pneumophila Brenner et al. 1979 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: pneu.mo’phi.la. Gr. masc. n. pneumôn, lung; N.L. fem. adj. suff. -phila, friend, loving; from Gr. fem. adj. philê, loving; N.L. fem. adj. pneumophila, lung-loving

Pronunciation (Latin), gender: … pne͡u-MO-p^hi-la, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 33152; CCUG 9568; CIP 103854; DSM 25069; DSM 7513; JCM 7571; NBIMCC 8848; NCTC 11192; Strain Philadelphia 1

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M59157 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Brenner DJ, Steigerwalt AG, McDade JE. Classification of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium: Legionella pneumophila, genus novum, species nova, of the family Legionellaceae, familia nova. Ann Intern Med 1979; 90:656-658.

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

Emendations:
- Brenner et al. 1988 Brenner DJ, Steigerwalt AG, Epple P, Bibb WF, McKinney RM, Starnes RW, Colville JM, Selander RK, Edelstein PH, Moss CW. Legionella pneumophila serogroup Lansing 3 isolated from a patient with fatal pneumonia, and descriptions of L. pneumophila subsp. pneumophila subsp. nov., L. pneumophila subsp. fraseri subsp. nov., and L. pneumophila subsp. pascullei subsp. nov. J Clin Microbiol 1988; 26:1695-1703. 🇺🇸
  Notes:
  - 🧍 As of 2020-09-22 this emendation was not yet included in an IJSEM List of Changes in Taxonomic Opinion.

Notes:
- 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Legionella Brenner et al. 1979 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Brenner DJ, Steigerwalt AG, McDade JE. Classification of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium: Legionella pneumophila, genus novum, species nova, of the family Legionellaceae, familia nova. Ann Intern Med 1979; 90:656-658.
- 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human and animal pathogen - biological class of risk animal: 2". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "default: 2 Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2 - Considerations for containment: All activities that may produce aerosols, or involve high concentrations or large volume, are to be conducted in a biological safety cabinet (BSC) or other primary containment devices. Otherwise, if the usage of a BSC or a primary containment device is not possible, an appropriate personal protective equipment is to be worn to minimize exposure to aerosols.; strain Lp03 (dot/icm-): 2 Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2; strain 25D: 1 Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: 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 = 2. — The risk group for Sweden has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "P650 = v". — The risk group for United States has been imported on 2024-02-09. 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 6552 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 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. 🇬🇧

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 3
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 3
Total number of child taxa: 3

Child taxa:

Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
Legionella pneumophila subsp. fraseri Brenner et al. 1989	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
Legionella pneumophila subsp. pascullei Brenner et al. 1989	validly published under the ICNP	correct name
Legionella pneumophila subsp. pneumophila (Brenner et al. 1979) Brenner et al. 1989	validly published under the ICNP	correct name

Parent taxon: Legionella Brenner et al. 1979 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Brenner DJ, Steigerwalt AG, McDade JE. Classification of the Legionnaires' disease bacterium: Legionella pneumophila, genus novum, species nova, of the family Legionellaceae, familia nova. Ann Intern Med 1979; 90:656-658.

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Record number: 784113

This LPSN page was printed on 2026-02-11 13:33:22

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Species Legionella pneumophila

Species ***Legionella* *pneumophila***