Justify the name of "unknown bacteria"! Microbiologists from around the world have joined forces to create a new naming system

Microbiologists around the world have long struggled to classify prokaryotes and share relevant updates with their peers
.
However, most of them have no names
.
Less than 0.
2 percent of the known total number of prokaryotes has been officially named, as the current rules described in the International Law of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) require new species to be obtained
in laboratories through pure culture.
This means that to name it, you must first have a physical sample to prove it
.

In a new study published in Nature Microbiology, an international team of researchers led by the Universities of Georgia and Pretoria has built a new system called SeqCode that could help researchers in the field of microbiology classify and name
a large number of identified but yet uncultured prokaryotes.
The system was established to reflect significant advances in environmental genomics
by combining the field of microbiology and laboratory research by providing the formal naming of most identified but commercially unnamed prokaryotic pathways.

Currently, prokaryotic systematics has been extended in an orderly manner to key parts of the entire prokaryotic tree
.
This will serve scientific research and the broader field, providing a common language-based genomic dataset
for all prokaryotes.

To be eligible for inclusion in SeqCode, the genome must meet stringent scientific criteria to ensure quality, stability and open data sharing
.
While SeqCode is not yet universally accepted, it is fundamentally in line with established international principles
for naming other organisms, including plants and animals.

According to the authors, one of SeqCode's main goals is to reverse the trend
of using the term "non-standardized" in the scientific literature in the field of microbiology.
Because this can lead to errors, it increases the likelihood of future renaming and makes it difficult for scientists to review and compare data and communicate
effectively.
Instead, SeqCode contains principles
of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability.

Take chlamydia, for example
.
Since these microorganisms cannot be grown, stored or distributed as pure cultures, they cannot be officially named at this time
.
Therefore, for clinicians, the lack of a valid name for newly discovered chlamydia can be confusing and there is a risk of miscataloging, which could hinder tracking disease outbreaks and communication
between scientists, doctors, and patients.

The team stressed that SeqCode is not meant to discourage nurturing
.
Cultures of mixed or pure cultures can test the properties predicted from the
genome under controlled conditions.
In addition, researchers are strongly encouraged to preserve strains to culture preservation centers to improve the availability of strains, assess the reproducibility of phenotypic traits, provide resources for biochemistry and biotechnology, and facilitate international collaboration
.

They conclude their paper by writing: "We believe that 'SeqCode v.
1.
0' is a necessary first step towards a unified naming system to communicate the full diversity of prokaryotes, and we will work with the scientific community to realize this vision
.
" ”