Name: Phocaeicola abscessus Al Masalma et al. 2009

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: abs.ces’sus. L. gen. masc. n. abscessus, of an abscess

Pronunciation, gender: abs-KES-sus, masculine

Type strain: 7401987; CCUG 55929; CSUR P22; DSM 21584

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: EU694176 Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Al Masalma M, Raoult D, Roux V. Phocaeicola abscessus gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from a human brain abscess sample. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:2232-2237.

IJSEM list: Euzeby JP. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 59, part 9 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:2921-2922.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

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

Risk group: 2

• Emendations:
  • García-López et al. 2019 Garcia-Lopez M, Meier-Kolthoff JP, Tindall BJ, Gronow S, Woyke T, Kyrpides NC, Hahnke RL, Goker M. Analysis of 1,000 Type-Strain Genomes Improves Taxonomic Classification of Bacteroidetes. Front Microbiol 2019; 10:2083. 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 Phocaeicola Al Masalma et al. 2009. Publication: Al Masalma M, Raoult D, Roux V. Phocaeicola abscessus gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from a human brain abscess sample. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:2232-2237.
  • 😷 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 6 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 a putative 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: Phocaeicola Al Masalma et al. 2009

Assigned by: Al Masalma M, Raoult D, Roux V. Phocaeicola abscessus gen. nov., sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium isolated from a human brain abscess sample. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2009; 59:2232-2237.

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Record number: 788082