International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes

The International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP), formerly the International Committee on Systematic Bacteriology (ICSB), is the body that oversees the nomenclature of prokaryotes, determines the rules by which prokaryotes are named and whose Judicial Commission issues Opinions concerning taxonomic matters, revisions to the Bacteriological Code, etc.

Composition

The ICSP consists of an executive board, the members of a decision-making committee (judicial commission) and members elected from member societies of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). In addition, the ICSP has a number of subcommittees dealing with issues regarding the nomenclature and taxonomy of specific groups of prokaryotes.

Subcommittees

The ICSP has a number of subcommittees dealing with issues regarding the nomenclature and taxonomy of specific groups of prokaryotes. These include the following:

• Aeromonadaceae, Vibrionaceae and related organisms
• Genera Agrobacterium and Rhizobium
• Bacillus and related organisms
• Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and related organisms
• Genus Brucella; Burkholderia, Ralstonia and related organisms
• Campylobacter and related bacteria
• Clostridia and Clostridium-like organisms
• Comamonadaceae and related organisms
• Family Enterobacteriaceae
• Flavobacterium- and Cytophaga-like bacteria
• Gram-negative anaerobic rods
• Family Halobacteriaceae
• Family Halomonadaceae
• Genus Leptospira
• Genus Listeria
• Methanogens
• Suborder Micrococcineae
• Families Micromonosporaceae, Streptosporangiaceae and Thermomonosporaceae
• Class Mollicutes
• Genus Mycobacterium
• Nocardia and related organisms
• Family Pasteurellaceae
• Photosynthetic prokaryotes
• Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas and related organisms
• Suborder Pseudonocardineae
• Staphylococci and streptococci
• Family Streptomycetaceae

Publications

The ICSP is also integral to the production of the publication of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (the Bacteriological Code) and the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology (IJSEM) (formerly the International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, IJSB). IUMS has now agreed to transfer copyright of future versions of the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (to be renamed the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes) to the ICSP.