The potential impact of the Lactobacillus name change: The results of an expert meeting organised by the Lactic Acid Bacteria Industrial Platform (LABIP)

Background: Taxonomy and nomenclature are important aspects of biological science, as they allow unambiguous communication about all living species. In contrast to higher life forms, microbes have no comparable sexual reproduction, upon which bacterial speciation can be based. Therefore, alternative criteria have to be used, which differ depending on the group of microorganisms. In the past, phenotypic criteria such as fermentation patterns, enzymatic profiles and DNA-DNA hybridisation were cornerstone techniques for speciation. But today, the wider availability of high-throughput sequencing technology and the relatively small genome size of bacteria have allowed phenotypic testing to be replaced by genome sequencing as the main source of taxonomic information. Scope and approach: Not unexpectedly, the results of phylogenetic analyses based on these new data do not always match results from phenotypic approaches. Based on a recent analysis of the genome sequences of 222 species of the genus Lactobacillus and related taxa, it is expected that the genus Lactobacillus will be split in a considerable number of new genera. Key findings and conclusions: In October 2018 LABIP organised an expert workshop to discuss the economic, scientific and regulatory consequences of this taxonomic change. This report represents a summary of the considerations and outcomes of this workshop, supplemented with some later reflections and recent literature.