Name: Leptospira interrogans (Stimson 1907) Wenyon 1926 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Spirochaeta interrogans" Stimson 1907

Etymology: in.ter.ro.gans. L. part. adj. interrogans, asking, inquiring, interrogating, here meaning shaped like a question mark

Gender: feminine

Type strain: ATCC 43642; DSM 21525; icterohaemorrhagiae RGA; RGA; serogroup Icterohaemorrhagiae, serovar Icterohaemorrhagiae, strain RGA

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: FJ154549 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Wenyon CM. Spirochaetes. In: Wenyon CM (eds), Protozoology Volume 2, Williams Wood and Co., New York, 1926, p. 1233-1288.

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

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Spirochaeta interrogans" Stimson 1907	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists

• Emendations:
  • Faine and Stallman 1982 Faine S, Stallman ND. Amended descriptions of the genus Leptospira Noguchi 1917 and the species L. interrogans (Stimson 1907) Wenyon 1926 and L. biflexa (Wolbach and Binger 1914) Noguchi 1918. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1982; 32:461-463.
  • Hördt et al. 2020 Hordt A, Lopez MG, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Schleuning M, Weinhold LM, Tindall BJ, Gronow S, Kyrpides NC, Woyke T, Goker M. Analysis of 1,000+ Type-Strain Genomes Substantially Improves Taxonomic Classification of Alphaproteobacteria. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:468. Oren A, Garrity GM. List of changes in taxonomic opinion no. 32. Notification of changes in taxonomic opinion previously published outside the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2020; 70:4061-4090.

• Notes:
  • Nomenclatural type of the genus Leptospira Noguchi 1917 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Noguchi H. SPIROCHAETA ICTEROHAEMORRHAGIAE IN AMERICAN WILD RATS AND ITS RELATION TO THE JAPANESE AND EUROPEAN STRAINS : FIRST PAPER. J Exp Med 1917; 25:755-763.
  • 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.
  • ATCC 43642 replaces ATCC 23581 as the type strain (Opinion 91, Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes, IJSEM 64:3584-3585). Publication: Judicial Commission. Judicial Opinion No. 91. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2014; 64:3584-3585.
  • ATCC 43642 replaces ATCC 23581 as the type strain (Opinion 91; Judicial Commission of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes; IJSEM 64:3584-3585). Publication: Judicial Commission. Judicial Opinion No. 91. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2014; 64:3584-3585.
  • In September 1990, the "Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Leptospira" agreed by a majority vote that strain Ictero N° 1 = ATCC 43782 should replace strain RGA as the type strain of Leptopsira interrogans [1, 2]. However, according to Rule 18g, only the Judicial Commission may decide to take action leading to replacement of a type strain [3]. The members of the "Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Leptospira" omitted to request a Judicial Opinion, and the proposal for the replacement of strain RGA by strain Ictero N° 1 is not in accordance with the rules of the ICNP. Publication: Marshall R. INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE TAXONOMY OF LEPTOSPIRA: Minutes of the meetings, 13 and 15 September 1990, Osaka, Japan. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1992; 42:330-334.
  • See also: Publication: Yasuda PH, Steigerwalt AG, Sulzer KR, Kaufmann AF, Rogers F, Brenner DJ. Deoxyribonucleic acid relatedness between serogroups and serovars in the family Leptospiraceae with proposals for seven new Leptospira species. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1987; 37:407-415.
  • See also: Publication: Johnson RC, Faine S. Genus I. Lepstospira Noguchi 1917, 755AL. In: Krieg NR, Holt JG (eds), Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, first edition, vol. 1, The Williams & Wilkins Co, Baltimore, 1984, p. 62-67.
  • See also: Publication: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved Lists of Bacterial Names. Amended edition. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, 1989.
  • See also: Publication: Landon S, Tang J. Proposal to list ATCC 43642 as the type strain of Leptospira interrogans in the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names. Request for an opinion. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2004; 54:2439.
  • The full TRBA 466 classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Z".

Parent taxon: Leptospira Noguchi 1917 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Wenyon CM. Spirochaetes. In: Wenyon CM (eds), Protozoology Volume 2, Williams Wood and Co., New York, 1926, p. 1233-1288.

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Record number: 784137