Name: Ralstonia nicotianae Liu et al. 2023

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: ni.co.ti.a’nae. N.L. gen. fem. n. nicotianae, of Nicotiana, the tobacco plant, from which the type strain (RST) was isolated

Gender: feminine

Type strain: GDMCC 1.3533; JCM 35814; RS

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: ON797093 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Liu JY, Zhang JF, Wu HL, Chen Z, Li SY, Li HM, Zhang CP, Zhou YQ, Lu CH. Proposal to classify Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype I strains as Ralstonia nicotianae sp. nov., and a genomic comparison between members of the genus Ralstonia. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1135872.

IJSEM list: Oren A, Göker M. Validation list no. 213. List of new names and new combinations previously effectively, but not validly, published. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2023; 73:5997.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

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

• Notes:
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 2 times in PubMed until 2025-06-04.
  • 🪓 Organisms assigned to this species have previously been classified as Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996. Publication: Yabuuchi E, Kosako Y, Yano I, Hotta H, Nishiuchi Y. Transfer of two Burkholderia and an Alcaligenes species to Ralstonia gen. Nov.: Proposal of Ralstonia pickettii (Ralston, Palleroni and Doudoroff 1973) comb. Nov., Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) comb. Nov. and Ralstonia eutropha (Davis 1969) comb. Nov. Microbiol Immunol 1995; 39:897-904. Anonymous. Validation list no. 57. Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1996; 46:625-626.
  • 🫡 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 genus. This name is not taxonomically suspended any more in favour of Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) Yabuuchi et al. 1996. Publication: Yabuuchi E, Kosako Y, Yano I, Hotta H, Nishiuchi Y. Transfer of two Burkholderia and an Alcaligenes species to Ralstonia gen. Nov.: Proposal of Ralstonia pickettii (Ralston, Palleroni and Doudoroff 1973) comb. Nov., Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith 1896) comb. Nov. and Ralstonia eutropha (Davis 1969) comb. Nov. Microbiol Immunol 1995; 39:897-904. Anonymous. Validation list no. 57. Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSB. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1996; 46:625-626.
  • 🧍 Lowe-Power et al. (2023) do not support the separation of Ralstonia nicotianae from Ralstonia solanacearum. While this is a possible or even valuable taxonomic viewpoint, there are two problems with the paper by Lowe-Power et al. (2023). First, the title is inappropriate. The "Ralstonia research community" does not appear to be a registered entity, so one wonders whether Lowe-Power et al. (2023) have any right to act as its gatekeepers. Any group of authors could easily declare themselves to be a community to the exclusion of others. Moreover, while the title gives the impression that the "Ralstonia research community" has already made its decision, in the article the authors "strongly encourage ... fellow scientists in the RSSC community not to adopt R. nicotianae", implying that part of the community has not yet made this decision. Second, Lowe-Power et al. (2023) consistently misinterpret the ICNP (International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes), in particular Principle 1 and the role of recommendations. Publication: Lowe-Power T, Sharma P, Alfenas-Zerbini P, Álvarez B, Arif M, Baroukh C, Bocsanczy AM, Biosca EG, Castillo JA, Cellier G, et al. The Ralstonia Research Community Rejects the Proposal to Classify Phylotype I Ralstonia into the New Species Ralstonia nicotianae. PhytoFrontiers 2023; 3:761-766.

Parent taxon: Ralstonia Yabuuchi et al. 1996

Assigned by: Liu JY, Zhang JF, Wu HL, Chen Z, Li SY, Li HM, Zhang CP, Zhou YQ, Lu CH. Proposal to classify Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype I strains as Ralstonia nicotianae sp. nov., and a genomic comparison between members of the genus Ralstonia. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1135872.

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Record number: 37066