Researchers Propose Automating the Naming of Novel Microbes

With modern technologies unearthing novel bacterial and archaeal species by the dozens, hundreds, or even thousands, manually naming them all is no longer practical, scientists say.

Written byJef Akst

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When Mark Pallen and his colleagues began describing the chicken gut microbiome several years ago, they soon identified DNA sequences from undocumented species. In 2019, the team conducted its most comprehensive survey yet and found hundreds of seemingly novel microbes, some belonging to entirely new genera. “It became clear that much of what we were looking at then had never been named before, never been characterized,” says Pallen, a professor of microbial genomics at the Quadram Institute in the UK as well as the University of East Anglia and the University of Surrey.

Often, researchers publishing on microbial discoveries will assign alphanumeric designations such as “s__JCVI-SCAAA005 sp000224765” to new bacterial and archaeal species. But trained as a medical microbiologist, Pallen says he values the traditional binomial nomenclature instituted by Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century that identifies an organism by its genus and species names. Giving ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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