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The stability of biological nomenclature: yeasts

1986; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 322; Issue: 6080 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/322599a0

1476-4687

James A. Barnett,

Fermentation and Sensory Analysis

The stability of biological nomenclature: yeasts SIR-The strictures of Erzinclioglu and Unwin on the inconvenient instability of zoological nomenclature (Nature 320, 687; 1986) apply equally to other kinds of organism.including the yeasts.For nontaxonomists. the rapidity with which yeast names change is farcical.For example, Zygosaccharomyces fermentati' was altered 10 Sacc/llll"OlIll'CeS cerel'isiac hv Lodder and Kreger-van Rij in 1952'.hack' to Z.I'gO-S{lcc/III/'OlIlrces fermellwti hy Kudriavzev in 1954 '. 10 Saccharom \'ces 1Il01l{{/lIl1S bv Phat'f.Miller and Shifrine in 1956' .tt) TOflllas{Joril l/1allcllllrica in 1975 by van dcr Walt and Johannsen' and finally ('!) hack again to Zrgosacc!zaromvcesfer/l/elltati by von Arx and his colleagues in 1977".The same process continues even now.As part of a major work on yeast taxonomy'.C. P. Kurtzman gave descriptions of thirty species of the genus Hallsenlila.which he then proceeded to abolish in a paper published the same year' .Part of the trouble comes from the romantic confusion of biological classification with evolutionary studies.exemplified by S. J. Gould's words":.. taxonomies arc not neutral hat-racks for the pristine facts of nature.They arc theories thaI create and reflect the deep structure of science and human culture."Too many taxonomists appear to subscribe to this kind of sentimental codswallop and seem quite unable to understand that instability of nomenclature seriously impairs the value of their work to biology as a whole.How many biologists who work with yeasts know that publications on Saccharomyces carlsbergensis, Saccharomyces uvarum, Saccharomyces cerevisiae or Saccharomyces logos might refer to the same yeast?At best, this is an inconvenience; at worst, it retards understanding of the biology of that yeast.It would be perfectly practicable for there to be an international body, responsible for the nomenclature of each group of organisms, and briefed to give their names helpful stability.