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International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes; Subcommittee on the taxonomy of the suborder Micrococcineae

Minutes of the meeting, 24 July 2005, San Francisco, CA, USA

Minute 1. Call to order.
The open subcommittee meeting was called to order by the Chairman, P. Schumann, at 15 : 00 on 24 July 2005.

Minute 2. Record of attendance.
The members present were P. Schumann (Chairman), L. I. Evtushenko (Secretary), H.-J. Busse, O. R. Gvozdyak, P. Kämpfer, K. Suzuki and A. Yokota. Apologies for absence was received from E. Stackebrandt. Others present were R. M. Kroppenstedt and M. Trujillo.

Minute 3. Approval of the agenda.
The agenda for the meeting was approved.

Minute 4. Election of new members.
The Chairman nominated R. Pukall (DSMZ, Braunschweig, Germany) as a new member and presented his written acceptance of candidacy. R. Pukall was elected unanimously as a new member in absentia. The membership of R. Pukall was approved by the Secretary for Subcommittees of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes on 13 August 2005.

Minute 5. Report on the activities of the subcommittee since the previous meeting in Paris in 2002.
The Chairman gave a short survey of the activities. The minutes of the subcommittee meeting of 2002 have been published [Schumann & Busse, Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 53 (2003), 919]. The list of taxa covered by the subcommittee (http://www.the-icsp.org/taxa/micrococcineaelist.htm) was completed and updated on 1 March 2005. A draft of the minimal standards for description of new taxa of the suborder Micrococcineae had been prepared by P. Schumann and L. I. Evtushenko and circulated among the members of the subcommittee prior to the meeting in San Francisco.

Minute 6. New genera proposed since the meeting in Paris in 2002.
The Chairman gave a short survey of the genera described since the previous meeting in Paris in 2002 which had been included into the updated list of taxa covered by the subcommittee. A brief discussion was focused on several recently described genera. It was agreed that some of these genera could not be assigned unambiguously to established families and were placed in the section ‘genera unassigned to a family’. It was decided that the genus Tropheryma La Scola et al. 2001 will be included into the list of taxa covered by the subcommittee on the basis of the sparse available set of characteristics of this genus.

Minute 7. MALDI/TOF mass spectrometry (MS) in taxonomic research and quality control.
A presentation of the method and instrumentation was given by O. Gvozdyak. Being used as a separate tool, the methodology works for identification within a broad taxonomic range, from the genus level through the species level to the authentication of strains. Its application as an additional tool in polyphasic taxonomic studies for characterization and differentiation at the species level is prospective. Although reports on the application of MALDI/TOF MS for members of the suborder Micrococcineae are not yet numerous, this method has been shown to be promising for ‘Corallococcus’, where MALDI/TOF MS data showed a good correlation with the results of a phylogenetic study based on gene sequence analyses [Stackebrandt et al., Curr Microbiol 50 (2005), 71–77].

Minute 8. Minimal standards for description of new taxa of the suborder Micrococcineae.
The Chairman gave a short survey of the draft of the minimal standards and outlined some points that required special attention of the subcommittee members. The draft of the minimal standards was discussed. Detailed comments were provided by P. Kämpfer. After discussions, the members agreed that the threshold value of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity that suggests the affiliation of strains to a separate genomic species should be changed from 97 to 98 % for the suborder Micrococcineae. Subsequently, DNA–DNA hybridization studies or other appropriate techniques are essential for the evaluation of the species status of only those strains that show more than 98 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. It was also emphasized that the number and types of species-differentiating phenotypic characters should be sufficiently large to ensure that novel strains of the described species will be phenotypically recognizable. The type strains of closely related species should be included in a study. This is particularly important for studies of those characters that vary depending on growth conditions and test method (e.g. certain physiological properties and fatty acid composition). The use of standardized commercial test systems in combination with classical methods for testing of physiological and biochemical characters is recommended. For the description of new genera within the suborder Micrococcineae, the use of the entire set of chemotaxonomic characteristics was considered to be highly advisable. The list of characters is subdivided into a ‘Minimal set of characters' and ‘Additional characters’. As chemotaxonomic markers are very informative in this group of micro-organisms, the detailed chemotaxonomic characterization of novel genera is highly encouraged. It was agreed that detailed descriptions of methods in the minimal standards for families or genera of this large and complex suborder are inexpedient. Recommended methods will be provided in a generalized way by giving references and comments and will be specified only when necessary.

The draft of the minimal standards was approved in general. It was agreed that it will be modified according to the issues discussed and circulated among the subcommittee members for final acceptance.

Minute 9. Current membership.
The present membership of the subcommittee is as follows: P. Schumann, Chairman (Germany), L. I. Evtushenko, Secretary (Russia), H.-J. Busse (Austria), O. R. Gvozdyak (USA), P. Kämpfer (Germany), R. Pukall (Germany), E. Stackebrandt (Germany), K. Suzuki (Japan) and A. Yokota (Japan).

Minute 10. Next meeting.
The next meeting will be held in 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey, at the next congress of the International Union of Microbiological Societies.

Minute 11. Adjournment.
The meeting was adjourned at 17 : 25 on 24 July 2005.

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