Holospora (ex Hafkine 1890) nom. rev., a Genus of Bacteria Inhabiting the Nuclei of Paramecia

Abstract

The genus Holospora was named and described by Hafkine in 1890 for bacteria which inhabit the nuclei of paramecia. Because holosporas could not be cultivated, the name Holospora and the names of the species in the genus were not included in the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names (Skerman et al., ed., Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 30:225–420, 1980). Recently, we examined organisms identified as belonging to two Holospora species, “Holospora undulata” Hafkine 1890 and “Holospora obtusa” Hafkine 1890 and confirmed the descriptions of Hafkine. In the past, some workers have considered these organisms to be hereditary factors or particles, referred to as omega and iota particles. This practice should be abandoned, and the organisms should be referred to by their proper scientific names. Consequently, the names Holospora, H. undulata (the type species), and H. obtusa are revived here for the same organisms to which the names were originally applied by Hafkine. Because these organisms have not been cultivated, the illustrations and descriptions of these organisms serve as representatives of their nomenclatural types.