George M. Garrity

Report of the ad hoc committee for the re-evaluation of the species definition in bacteriology

An ad hoc committee for the re-evaluation of the species definition in bacteriology met in Gent, Belgium, in February 2002. The committee made various recommendations regarding the species definition in the light of developments in methodologies available to systematists.

Phylum BVI. Chloroflexi phy. nov.

The phylum Chloroflexi is a deep branching lineage of Bacteria The single class within Chloroflexi subdivides into two orders: the “Chloroflexales” and the “Herpetosiphonales”. Gram-negative, filamentous Bacteria. exhibiting gliding motility. Peptidoglycan contains L-ornithine as the diamino acid. Lipopolysaccharide-containing outer membrane not present.

Phylum All. Euryarchaeota phy. nov.

The phylum currently consists of seven classes: the Methanobacteria, the Methanococci, the Halobacteria, the Thermoplasmata, the Thermococci, the Archaeoglobi, and the Methanopyri. With the sole exception of the Methanococci, which is subdivided into three orders, each class contains a single order. The Euryarchaeota are morphologically diverse and occur as rods, cocci, irregular cocci, lancet-shaped, spiral-shaped, disk-shaped, triangular, or square cells. Cells stain Gram-positive or Gram-negative based on the presence or absence of pseudomurein in cell walls. In some classes, cell walls consist entirely of protein or may be completely absent (Thermoplasmata). Five major physiological groups have been described previously: the methanogenic Archaea, the extremely halophilic Archaea, Archaea lacking a cell wall, sulfate reducing Archaea, and the extremely thermophilic S0 metabolizers.

Phylum BIII. Thermodesulfobacteria phy. nov.

The phylum Thermodesulfobacteria is currently represented by a single genus which branches deeply in the major reference trees. Gram-negative, rod-shaped cells possessing an outer membrane layer which forms protrusions. Thermophilic, strictly anaerobic, chemoheterotrophs exhibiting a dissimilatory sulfatereducing metabolism.

Pipelining RDP Data to the "Taxomatic" - Final Report

Describes the development of a web-based tool for establishing and exploring prokaryotic taxonomies. The tool links to RDP-II data and is a a part of the RDPs web services.