Rules for the classification of antibiotic-producing actinomycetes.

One of the most important tasks in our present day science of antibiotics is the establishment of a completely rational taxonomy and nomenclature for antibiotic-producing organisms. A purposeful search for antibiotic substances is possible only with good knowledge of the species which produce them. A great many antibiotic-producing actinomycetes have been described recently. Investigators often give new species names without a strict taxonomic analysis, ignoring the existing rules of nomenclature and classification, and without adequate analysis and appropriate comparison of a culture with previously described ones. One important deficiency of many publications in microbial taxonomy is the extremely poor description of cultures. Many authors often confine themselves to two or three insignificant phrases or do not give any information on the antibiotic-producing abilities of species described. Comparison of described species is complicated by the fact that published investigations characterize species under unlike conditions. Some investigators use only rich organic media, others use simple defined media with an inorganic source of nitrogen, etc. Great confusion is created as a result of such neglect of classification rules; it becomes more and more difficult to evaluate published material and often it is even impossible to make use of it. Therefore frequently different species of organisms are described under the same name, or the same species designation is given to cultures belonging to different species. We have encountered such inhomogeneity and species mixtures in the study of strains received from different laboratories in America, England, Japan, and other countries under the name of Actinomyces griseus, Actinomyces lavendulae, Actinomyces fradiae, Actinomyces erythreus, Actinomyces olivaceus, and Actinomyces globis-