Name: Xenorhabdus nematophila corrig. (Poinar and Thomas 1965) Thomas and Poinar 1979 (Approved Lists 1980)

Category: Species

Proposed as: comb. nov.

Basonym: "Achromobacter nematophilus" Poinar and Thomas 1965

Etymology: ne.ma.to’phi.la. N.L. neut. n. nematodum, nematode; N.L. fem. adj. suff. -phila, friend, loving; from Gr. fem. adj. philê, loving; N.L. fem. adj. nematophila, nematode-loving

Pronunciation, gender: ne-ma-TO-p^hi-la, feminine

Type strain: ATCC 19061; CCUG 14189; DSM 3370; LMG 1036

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: FJ515824 Analyse FASTA

Effective publication: Thomas GM, Poinar Jr. GO. Xenorhabdus gen. nov., a genus of entomopathogenic nematophilic bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1979; 29:352-360.

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: correct name (and explicitly recommended for medical use)

Risk group: 1

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    "Achromobacter nematophilus" Poinar and Thomas 1965	homotypic synonym, not validly published, basonym of name in Approved Lists
    Xenorhabdus nematophilus (Poinar and Thomas 1965) Thomas and Poinar 1979 (Approved Lists 1980)	other spelling of name, inaccurate spelling

• Notes:
  • 🥇 Nomenclatural type of the genus Xenorhabdus Thomas and Poinar 1979 (Approved Lists 1980). Publication: Thomas GM, Poinar Jr. GO. Xenorhabdus gen. nov., a genus of entomopathogenic nematophilic bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1979; 29:352-360.
  • 😷 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 Germany has been imported on 2023-10-29. The full classification is: risk group = 1, note = "n". — 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 263 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 other species in the genus.
  • 🧍 Nom. corrig.: IJSEM 50:1691; Xenorhabdus nematophilus (sic). Publication: Euzeby JP, Boemare NE. The modern Latin word rhabdus belongs to the feminine gender, inducing necessary corrections according to Rules 65(2), 12c(1) and 13b of the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2000; 50:1691-1692.
  • 🧍 The original spelling of the specific epithet, nematophilus (sic), has been corrected by Euzéby and Boemare 2000. Publication: Euzeby JP, Boemare NE. The modern Latin word rhabdus belongs to the feminine gender, inducing necessary corrections according to Rules 65(2), 12c(1) and 13b of the Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision). Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2000; 50:1691-1692.

Subdivision:

Number of child taxa with a validly published and correct name: 0
Number of child taxa with a validly published name, including synonyms: 4
Total number of child taxa: 4

• Child taxa:

  • Name	Nomenclatural status	Taxonomic status
    Xenorhabdus nematophila subsp. beddingii corrig. Akhurst 1986	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Xenorhabdus nematophila subsp. bovienii corrig. Akhurst 1983	validly published under the ICNP	synonym
    Xenorhabdus nematophila subsp. nematophila corrig. (Poinar and Thomas 1965) Akhurst 1983	validly published under the ICNP	synonym of its species
    Xenorhabdus nematophila subsp. poinarii corrig. Akhurst 1983	validly published under the ICNP	synonym

Parent taxon: Xenorhabdus Thomas and Poinar 1979 (Approved Lists 1980)

Assigned by: Thomas GM, Poinar Jr. GO. Xenorhabdus gen. nov., a genus of entomopathogenic nematophilic bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology 1979; 29:352-360.

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Record number: 783170