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Dichotomy in post-genomic microbiology

Nature Biotechnology volume 25, pages 848–849 (2007)Cite this article

To the editor:

Your editorial in November (Nat. Biotechnol. 24, 1299, 2006) discusses several initiatives and common 'platforms' that are being established to improve scientific communication and data comparison, including several standards under development, such as those for the analysis of microarray data1. We wish to raise a related concern about the unintentional development of a dichotomy in bacterial nomenclature in post-genomic microbiology, where strains for which the genome is known (sequenced strains) are increasingly treated as exemplary for the species. In addition, incomplete or incorrect bacterial names frequently occur in the genomic databases and literature. This has lead to the accumulation of unchecked information and the establishment of a parallel standard in microbiology, where sequenced strains are becoming the reference point instead of type strains.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NIZO Food Research, Kluyver Centre for Genomics of Industrial Fermentation, PO Box 20, BA Ede, 6710, The Netherlands

    Giovanna E Felis, Douwe Molenaar & Johan E T van Hylckama Vlieg

  2. Science and Technology Department, University of Verona, Strada le Grazie 15, Verona, I-37134, Italy

    Giovanna E Felis & Franco Dellaglio

  3. Top Institute Food and Nutrition, PO Box 557, AN Wageningen, 6700, The Netherlands

    Douwe Molenaar & Johan E T van Hylckama Vlieg

Authors
  1. Giovanna E Felis
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  2. Douwe Molenaar
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  3. Franco Dellaglio
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  4. Johan E T van Hylckama Vlieg
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giovanna E Felis.

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Felis, G., Molenaar, D., Dellaglio, F. et al. Dichotomy in post-genomic microbiology. Nat Biotechnol 25, 848–849 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0807-848

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0807-848

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