o:3376 Guidelines for interpreting the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes and for preparing a Request for an Opinion en In this paper the Judicial Commission provides general guidance for interpreting the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) and specific assistance to authors, reviewers and editors of a Request for an Opinion, or of other suggestions related to the ICNP. The role of the Judicial Commission is recapitulated, particularly with respect to the processing of such Requests. Selected kinds of nomenclature-related proposals are discussed that are unsuitable as the basis for a Request. Particular emphasis is put on Requests for placing names or epithets on the list of nomina rejicienda, and a dichotomous identification key is provided to guide potential authors of a Request that targets the name of a species or subspecies because of issues with its type strain. To this end, the criteria for the valid publication of such names under the ICNP are revisited. Aspects of other kinds of Requests are also addressed. The study is based on a comprehensive review of all Judicial Opinions issued since the publication of the Approved Lists in 1980. One goal of this paper is to assist potential authors in deciding whether their concern should be the subject of a Request, and if so, in composing it with the greatest chance of success. It is also clarified how to obtain additional help regarding nomenclature-related issues. Phylogeny; Sequence Analysis, DNA; RNA, Ribosomal, 16Sgenetics; DNA, Bacterial Genetics; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Base Composition; Fatty Acids Chemistry 1552099 10.1099/ijsem.0.005782 2024-08-13T08:23:12.756Z 44 yes 46 David R. Arahal Universitat de València Carolee T. Bull Pennsylvania State University person 0000-0002-0050-9478 Hans-Jürgen Busse University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna person 0000-0001-6084-0878 Henrik Christensen University of Copenhagen person Maria Chuvochina University of Queensland person Svetlana N. Dedysh Research Center of Biotechnology RAS person Pierre-Edouard Fournier Méditerranée Infection Foundation person Konstantinos T. Konstantinidis Georgia Institute of Technology person Charles T. Parker person Ramon Rossello-Mora Institut Mediterrani d'Estudis Avançats person Antonio Ventosa Universidad de Sevilla person Markus Göker Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures person application/pdf 774027 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:3376 no yes 16 70 1552253 International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 20 73 3 Society for General Microbiology 2023