We all know of products that have changed names, with no change to the formula. And, of course, we all know people who change name through marriage - the surname may change but the person remains the same.
More recently, you may have noticed that the ‘surname’ – or species name – of our Enterococcus bacteria has changed from faecium to lactis. In this blog, we’ll explain why….
When it comes to the scientific naming of animals and plants, there is an established practice which allows grouping of organisms with the same characteristics in genuses and species. It’s the same story for microbes.
Sometimes, as scientific understanding evolves and more is learnt, bacteria (and other microbes) may be moved into a different genus or species, or new ones created. This acknowledges that these organisms are sufficiently different to need their own identity.
For instance, in 2020, the bacteria L. plantarum and L. rhamnosus were reclassified and given new names. Before this change, the ‘L’ stood for Lactobacillus. However, as the genus grew increasingly large, it became necessary to separate into smaller groups of bacteria with distinct characteristics. As a result, the ‘L’ in L. plantarum became Lactiplantibacillus, whilst for L. rhamnosus it became Lacticaseibacillus (Zheng et al 2020).
In the case of E. faecium, the community-associated E. faecium clade B - which contain strains that colonise the human gut and have a long history of safe use in food - has recently been reclassified as the species E. lactis based on whole genome sequence analyses (Belloso Daza et al 2021). This updated change in classification has been recognised by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards, 2022).
Testing has confirmed that the E. faecium NCIMB 30176 strain used in Symprove is from the E. faecium clade B, and therefore the bacteria will now be listed as E. lactis NCIMB 30176 on box labels, the website and all other communications.
In summary, the bacteria, formulation, and long history of safe use of Symprove remain unchanged - only the E. faecium bacteria name has been updated to E. lactis.
References
Belloso Daza et al. Genome-based studies indicate that the Enterococcus faecium Clade B strains belong to Enterococcus lactis species and lack of the hospital infection associated markers. (2021). Link.
EFSA BIOHAZ Panel (EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards) (2022). Statement on the update of the list of QPS-recommended biological agents intentionally added to food or feed asnotified to EFSA 15: Suitability of taxonomic units notified to EFSA until September 2021. EFSA Journal, 20(1), 7045. Link.
Zheng et al. A taxonomic note on the genus Lactobacillus: Description of 23 novel genera, emended description of the genus Lactobacillus Beijerinck 1901, and union of Lactobacillaceae and Leuconostocaceae. (2020). Link.
