Name: Methanococcus voltae Balch and Wolfe 1981

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: vol’tae. N.L. gen. masc. n. voltae, of Volta, named for the Italian physicist A. Volta for discovery of the combustible nature of gas from anaerobic sediments

Gender: masculine

Type strain: ATCC 33273; DSM 1537; NBRC 100457; OCM 70; PS

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: M59290 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Balch WE, Fox GE, Magrum LJ, Woese CR, Wolfe RS. Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group. Microbiol Rev 1979; 43:260-296.

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Validation list no. 6. Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1981; 31:215-218.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

Risk group: 1

• Emendations:
  • Ward et al. 1989 Ward JM, Smith PH, Boone DR. Emended description of strain PS (= OGC 70 = ATCC 33273 = DSM 1537), the type strain of Methanococcus voltae. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1989; 39:493-494.
    Notes:
    • 🧍 Although the type strain ATCC 33273 appears in the literature, a query of the ATCC database reveals that it is not in their holdings.

• Notes:
  • ✏ The authority of the taxon name (Balch and Wolfe) deliberately differs from the authors of the publication (Balch et al.).
  • 😷 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 Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 1.
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 162 times in PubMed until 2024-03-27.
  • 🧍 Although the type strain ATCC 33273 appears in the literature, a query of the ATCC database reveals that it is not in their holdings. Publication: Garrity GM, Bell JA, Lilburn TG. Taxonomic Outline of the Procaryotes. Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Second Edition., Release 5.0. Springer-Verlag, New York, 2004.
  • 🧍 On the Validation List no. 6, the type strain DSM 1537 is erroneously cited as DSM 153. Publication: Euzeby JP, Kudo T. Corrigenda to the validation lists. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:1933-1938.

Parent taxon: Methanococcus Kluyver and van Niel 1936 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Balch WE, Fox GE, Magrum LJ, Woese CR, Wolfe RS. Methanogens: reevaluation of a unique biological group. Microbiol Rev 1979; 43:260-296.

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Record number: 777858