Plasmodia – don’t

Abstract

There is a long tradition in malariology of using the term Plasmodia when referring to multiple species of the genus Plasmodium [ 1 Kappe S.H. et al. That was then but this is now: malaria research in the time of an eradication agenda. Science. 2010; 328: 862-866 Crossref PubMed Scopus (184) Google Scholar , 2 Baumeister S. et al. Fosmidomycin uptake into Plasmodium and Babesia-infected erythrocytes is facilitated by parasite-induced new permeability pathways. PLoS ONE. 2011; 6: e19334 Crossref PubMed Scopus (61) Google Scholar , 3 Scheibel L.W. Miller J. Glycolytic and cytochrome oxidase activity in Plasmodia. Mil. Med. 1969; 134: 1074-1080 Crossref PubMed Scopus (24) Google Scholar , 4 Bass C.C. Johns F.M. The cultivation of malarial plasmodia (Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum) in vitro. J. Exp. Med. 1912; 16: 567-579 Crossref PubMed Scopus (50) Google Scholar ]. Do not. It is wrong. Latin names for genus and species are not subject to the rules of English grammar; one cannot simply create a plural of a genus name as one would for a noun. Linnaeus created the binomial system for nomenclature in his Systema Naturae in 1735 and designated a two-part name for each species of living thing. His binomial system, with hierarchical classification, found universal acceptance. Bodies governing the use of biological names were set up – one each for plants, animals, and bacteria – and a carefully constructed system for the creation and maintenance of scientific names is well established. The names typically derive from Latin or Greek; a few modern words or commemorative names are also allowed. A long-term goal is to harmonize these rules into a single code of nomenclature for all life, the BioCode [ 5 Greuter W. et al. Draft BioCode 2011. Principles and rules regulating the naming of organisms. Bionomia. 2011; 3: 26-44 Google Scholar ].