Species Sphingomonas wittichii

Name: Sphingomonas wittichii Yabuuchi et al. 2001

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: wit.ti’chi.i. N.L. gen. masc. n. wittichii, of Wittich, referring to Rolf-Michael Wittich, the German bacteriologist who first isolated this potent metabolizer of dibenzo-p-dioxin from the water of the river Elbe and described the metabolism of the compound by this organism

Pronunciation, gender: wit-TI-k^hi-i, feminine

Type strain: CCUG 31198; DSM 6014; EY 4224; JCM 10273; RW1; SMUM 2128

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AB021492 Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Yabuuchi E, Yamamoto H, Terakubo S, Okamura N, Naka T, Fujiwara N, Kobayashi K, Kosako Y, Hiraishi A. Proposal of Sphingomonas wittichii sp. nov. for strain RW1T, known as a dibenzo-p-dioxin metabolizer. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:281-292. 🇯🇵

IJSEM list: Anonymous. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 51, part 2 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:795-796.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: synonym (and not recommended for medical use)

Correct name: Rhizorhabdus wittichii (Yabuuchi et al. 2001) Hördt et al. 2020

Risk group: 1

Synonyms:

Name	Kind
Rhizorhabdus wittichii (Yabuuchi et al. 2001) Hördt et al. 2020	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP

Emendations:
- Kim et al. 2016 Kim M, Kang O, Zhang Y, Ren L, Chang X, Jiang F, Fang C, Zheng C, Peng F. Sphingoaurantiacus polygranulatus gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from high-Arctic tundra soil, and emended descriptions of the genera Sandarakinorhabdus, Polymorphobacter and Rhizorhabdus and the species Sandarakinorhabdus limnophila, Rhizorhabdus argentea and Sphingomonas wittichii. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2016; 66:91-100. 🇨🇳 Oren A, Garrity GM. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 66, part 1 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2016; 66:1607-1611.
  Notes:
  - 😢 The terminology used by the authors is in line with many other taxonomic studies and does not negatively affect their main results; some improvements may nevertheless be possible. Contrasting the term "chemotaxonomic" with "phenotypic" is not recommended. Using the term "phylogenetic data" (or equivalent) for sequence data is not advocated. See the LPSN phylogeny page for details.

Notes:
- ❗ Sphingomonas wittichii 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 Sphingomonas.
- 😷 The risk group for Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 1. — 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 69 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 genus.
- 🧍 The phylogenetic position of this species was determined in a genome-scale analysis by Hördt et al. (2020). Publication: 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. 🇩🇪
- 🧍 The specific epithet is mis-spelt in the title of the section "Description of Sphingomonas wittichi (sic) sp. nov." (see: page 289). Publication: Euzeby JP. List of Bacterial Names with Standing in Nomenclature: a folder available on the Internet. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1997; 47:590-592. 🇫🇷

Parent taxon: Sphingomonas Yabuuchi et al. 1990

Assigned by: Yabuuchi E, Yamamoto H, Terakubo S, Okamura N, Naka T, Fujiwara N, Kobayashi K, Kosako Y, Hiraishi A. Proposal of Sphingomonas wittichii sp. nov. for strain RW1T, known as a dibenzo-p-dioxin metabolizer. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2001; 51:281-292. 🇯🇵

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Record number: 781040

This LPSN page was printed on 2026-01-14 22:12:49

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Species Sphingomonas wittichii