Name: Sphingobacterium mizutaii corrig. Yabuuchi et al. 1983

Category: Species

Proposed as: sp. nov.

Etymology: mi.zu.ta’i.i. N.L. gen. masc. n. mizutaii, of Mizuta, named after Shunsuke Mizuta, Japanese pediatrician, who first reported a case of meningitis in a premature baby from whose spinal fluid the type strain of the species was isolated

Gender: neuter

Type strain: ATCC 33299; CCUG 15907; CIP 101122; DSM 11724; GIFU 1203; IFO 14946; JCM 21155; KC1794; LMG 8340; NBRC 14946; NCTC 12149

See detailed strain information at

Conduct genome-based taxonomy at

16S rRNA gene: AJ438175 Analyse FASTA

Valid publication: Yabuuchi E, Kaneko T, Yano I, Moss CW, Miyoshi N. Sphingobacterium gen. nov., Sphingobacterium spiritivorum comb. nov., Sphingobacterium multivorum comb. nov., Sphingobacterium mizutae sp. nov., and Flavobacterium indologenes sp. nov.: glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative rods in CDC groups IIK-2 and IIb. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1983; 33:580-598.

Nomenclatural status: validly published under the ICNP

Taxonomic status: correct name

Risk group: 2

• Synonyms:

  • Name	Kind
    Flavobacterium mizutaii (Yabuuchi et al. 1983) Holmes et al. 1988	homotypic synonym, validly published under the ICNP
    Sphingobacterium mizutae Yabuuchi et al. 1983	other spelling of name, inaccurate spelling

• Emendations:
  • Choi and Lee 2012 Choi HA, Lee SS. Sphingobacterium kyonggiense sp. nov., isolated from chloroethene-contaminated soil, and emended descriptions of Sphingobacterium daejeonense and Sphingobacterium mizutaii. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2012; 62:2559-2564. Euzeby JP. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 62, part 11 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2013; 63:399-400.
  • Wauters et al. 2012 Wauters G, Janssens M, De Baere T, Vaneechoutte M, Deschaght P. Isolates belonging to CDC group II-i belong predominantly to Sphingobacterium mizutaii Yabuuchi et al. 1983: emended descriptions of S. mizutaii and of the genus Sphingobacterium. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2012; 62:2598-2601. Euzeby JP. Notification list. Notification that new names and new combinations have appeared in volume 62, part 11 of the IJSEM. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 2013; 63:399-400.
  • 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:
  • 😷 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 = 1, note = "+".
  • 🎓 Name mentioned 19 times in PubMed until 2024-03-27.
  • 🧍 Gherna and Woese 1992 [2] showed that the type of the species Flavobacterium mizutaii does not group with the type of the genus Flavobacterium (Flavobacterium aquatile) and is consistent with placement of this species in the genus Sphingobacterium, not in the genus Flavobacterium as proposed by Holmes et al. 1988 [3]. Publication: Gherna R, Woese CR. A partial phylogenetic analysis of the "flavobacter-bacteroides" phylum: basis for taxonomic restructuring. Syst Appl Microbiol 1992; 15:513-521.
  • 🧍 See also: Publication: Bernardet JF, Segers P, Vancanneyt M, Berthe F, Kersters K, Vandamme P. Cutting a Gordian knot: emended classification and description of the genus Flavobacterium, emended description of the family Flavobacteriaceae, and proposal of Flavobacterium hydatis nom. nov. (basonym, Cytophaga aquatilis Strohl and Tait 1978). Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1996; 46:128-148.
  • 🧍 See also: Publication: Steyn PL, Segers P, Vancanneyt M, Sandra P, Kersters K, Joubert JJ. Classification of heparinolytic bacteria into a new genus, Pedobacter, comprising four species: Pedobacter heparinus comb. nov., Pedobacter piscium comb. nov., Pedobacter africanus sp. nov. and Pedobacter saltans sp. nov. proposal of the family Sphingobacteriaceae fam. nov. Int J Syst Bacteriol 1998; 48:165-177.
  • 🧍 The Bacteriological Code (1990 Revision) [1] caters primarily for new names and new combinations and does not address the issue of changes in taxonomic opinion, particularly where an earlier synonym is considered to be the name that corresponds with the data. Publication: Lapage SP, Sneath PHA, Lessel EF, Skerman VBD, Seeliger HPR, Clark WA. International code of nomenclature of bacteria (1990 Revision). American Society for Microbiology, Washington, 1992.
  • 🧍 The inclusion of this organism in the genus Sphingobacterium is supported by the work of Takeuchi and Yokota 1993 [4], Bernardet et al. 1996 [5], Steyn et al. 1998 [6] and virtually all subsequent publications dealing with members of the genera Pedobacter and Sphingobacterium. Barry Holmes of the NCTC also accepts the inclusion of this organism in the genus Sphingobacterium (personal communication to Brian J. Tindall of the DSMZ). While the name that often appears in databases is Flavobacterium mizutaii this is not consistent with widely accepted and published current taxonomic opinion. Publication: Takeuchi M, Yokota A. Proposals of Sphingobacterium faecium sp. nov., Sphingobacterium piscium sp. nov., Sphingobacterium heparinum comb. nov., Sphingobacterium thalpophilum comb. nov., and two genospecies of the genus Sphingobacterium and synonymy of Flavobacterium yabuuchiae and Sphingobacterium spiritivorum. J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 1992; 38:465-482.
  • 🧍 The original spelling, Sphingobacterium mizutae (sic) has been corrected by Holmes et al. 1988. Publication: Holmes B, Weaver RE, Steigerwalt AG, Brenner DJ. A taxonomic study of Flavobacterium spiritivorum and Sphingobacterium mizutae: proposal of Flavobacterium yabuuchiae sp. nov. and Flavobacterium mizutaii comb. nov. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1988; 38:348-353.

Parent taxon: Sphingobacterium Yabuuchi et al. 1983

Assigned by: Yabuuchi E, Kaneko T, Yano I, Moss CW, Miyoshi N. Sphingobacterium gen. nov., Sphingobacterium spiritivorum comb. nov., Sphingobacterium multivorum comb. nov., Sphingobacterium mizutae sp. nov., and Flavobacterium indologenes sp. nov.: glucose-nonfermenting gram-negative rods in CDC groups IIK-2 and IIb. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 1983; 33:580-598.

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Record number: 780977