Name: Propionibacterium acnes (Gilchrist 1900) Douglas and Gunter 1946 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Bacillus acnes" Gilchrist 1900

Etymology: ac’nes. Gr. fem. n. akmê, acne (inaccurately transliterated); N.L. gen. fem. n. acnes, of acne

Pronunciation, gender: AK-nes, neuter

Type strain: ATCC 6919; CCUG 1794; CIP 53.117; DSM 1897; JCM 6425; LMG 16711; NCTC 737; NRRL B-4224; VKM Ac-1450

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AB042288 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Douglas HC, Gunter SE. The Taxonomic Position of Corynebacterium acnes. J Bacteriol 1946; 52:15-23.

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: synonym (and not recommended for medical use)

Correct name: Cutibacterium acnes (Gilchrist 1900) Scholz and Kilian 2016

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Bacillus acnes" Gilchrist 1900	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Cutibacterium acnes (Gilchrist 1900) Scholz and Kilian 2016	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

• Notes:
  • ❗ Propionibacterium acnes is the correct name instead if this species is regarded as a separate species (i.e., if its nomenclatural type is not assigned to another species whose name is validly published, legitimate and not rejected and has priority) within a separate genus Propionibacterium.
  • 😷 The risk group for Belgium has been imported on 2024-02-05. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "human pathogen". — The risk group for Canada has been imported on 2024-02-27. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "Animal classification RG: 1 - Security sensitive biological agent: No - Terrestrial animal pathogen under Canadian Food Inspection Agency authority: No - Containment level: Containment Level 2". — The risk group for Swiss Confederation has been imported on 2024-02-01. The full classification is: risk group = 2. — The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 2, note = "TA". — The risk group for Taiwan has been imported on 2024-11-03. The full classification is: risk group = 2, 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 3609 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🙅 This name is on the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance (LoRN) as a synonym of 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. 🇬🇧
  • 🧍 Propionibacterium acnes has been described by Gilchrist 1900 [1] or by Gilchrist et al. 1901 [2, 3] as "Bacillus acnes". The name of the specific epithet has been incorrectly transliterated from Gr. noun acme (a point) to N.L. noun acne acnes. Publication: Skerman VBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA. Approved lists of bacterial names. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1980; 30:225-420.
  • 🧍 See also: Publication: Cummins CS, Johnson JL. Corynebacterium parvum: a synonym for Propionibacterium acnes? J Gen Microbiol 1974; 80:433-442.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 0
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 5
Total number of child taxa: 5

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Propionibacterium acnes subsp. acnes (Gilchrist 1900) Dekio et al. 2015	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Propionibacterium acnes subsp. acnes (Gilchrist 1900) McDowell et al. 2016	validly published under the ICNP, illegitimate name	synonym
    Propionibacterium acnes subsp. defendens McDowell et al. 2016	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Propionibacterium acnes subsp. elongatum McDowell et al. 2016	validly published under the ICNP, illegitimate name	synonym
    Propionibacterium acnes subsp. elongatum Dekio et al. 2015	validly published under the ICNP	synonym

Parent taxon: Propionibacterium Orla-Jensen 1909 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Douglas HC, Gunter SE. The Taxonomic Position of Corynebacterium acnes. J Bacteriol 1946; 52:15-23.

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Record number: 779819