Implementation of Rule 8 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes for the renaming of classes. Request for an Opinion.

The new version of Rule 8 of the International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes as approved in Istanbul in 2008 has the clear advantage of establishing a uniform way to name classes of prokaryotes, similar to the way other higher taxa are named. However, retroactive implementation of the modified Rule is problematic as it destabilizes the nomenclature and requires the replacement of a large number of names of classes that have been validly published, which would be in violation of Principle 1 of the Code. Therefore, we call upon the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes and its Judicial Commission to reconsider the retroactivity of Rule 8.