InChlamydiaveritas

Abstract

To the Editor Microbial taxonomy is an essential tool used to classify strains into different clades, that is, taxonomic units. A natural classification system should be based on evolutionary history, but this is often incompletely known. Hence, taxonomy remains an evolving field changing as new information becomes available. While such a classification system is essential for both researchers and clinicians, it is often poorly adhered to by those who should value it most. Indeed, despite the obvious importance of taxonomy, it is often considered by clinical and basic researchers as an arbitrary tool of little use or scientific value, and to some, it is just a painful reminder of years fruitlessly spent learning Latin in high school. Nevertheless, the science we do is only as good as the words we use to report it, and taxonomic denomination and its derivatives lie at the very core of the myriad of scientific words microbiologists use. Take Chlamydia as an example! Chlamydia , known as a sexually transmitted pathogen by some and as an ocular pathogen by others, is actually a pathogen that causes widespread disease in animals and humans, some of which was first described in antiquity (Trompoukis & Kourkoutas, 2007). Chlamydia provides a …