Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
This paper is a call to action. By publishing concurrently across journals like an emergency bulletin, we are not merely making a plea for awareness about climate change. Instead, we are demanding immediate, tangible steps that harness the power of microbiology and the expertise of researchers and policymakers to safeguard the planet for future generations.
The nomenclature of prokaryotes is regulated by the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes. In view of inconsistencies in the use of names of many prokaryotic taxa and confusion caused by recent nomenclature changes, this essay presents an overview of how to use correct names of taxa. It includes information on validly published names of prokaryotic phyla, the way to deal with names of species that were transferred to newly created genera, and the nomenclature of uncultivated Candidatus taxa. It also provides recommendations for databases that provide reliable nomenclature information.