title: Historical Perspectives and Guidelines for Botulinum Neurotoxin Subtype Nomenclature.
abstract: Botulinum neurotoxins are diverse proteins. They are currently represented by at least seven serotypes and more than 40 subtypes. New clostridial strains that produce novel neurotoxin variants are being identified with increasing frequency, which presents challenges when organizing the nomenclature surrounding these neurotoxins. Worldwide, researchers are faced with the possibility that toxins having identical sequences may be given different designations or novel toxins having unique sequences may be given the same designations on publication. In order to minimize these problems, an ad hoc committee consisting of over 20 researchers in the field of botulinum neurotoxin research was convened to discuss the clarification of the issues involved in botulinum neurotoxin nomenclature. This publication presents a historical overview of the issues and provides guidelines for botulinum neurotoxin subtype nomenclature in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Research, Norwich NR4 7UA, UK. Mike.Peck@ifr.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Peck
authors.affiliation: Molecular and Translational Sciences Division, United States Army Medical Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD 21702, USA. theresa.j.smith.ctr@mail.mil.
authors.forename: Theresa J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: National Reference Centre for Botulism, Istituto Superiore di Sanita, Rome 299-00161, Italy. fabrizio.anniballi@iss.it.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Anniballi
authors.affiliation: Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9, Canada. john.austin@hc-sc.gc.ca.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Austin
authors.affiliation: Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Treviso 31020, Italy. lbano@izsvenezie.it.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bano
authors.affiliation: Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA. mbradsha@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Marite
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bradshaw
authors.affiliation: Área de Microbiología, Departamento de Patología, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza 450001, Argentina. paulacuervo84@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Paula
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cuervo
authors.affiliation: Foodborne Toxin Detection and Prevention Research Unit, Western Regional Research Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Albany, CA 94710, USA. luisa.cheng@ars.usda.gov.
authors.forename: Luisa W
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland. yagmur.derman@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Yagmur
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Derman
authors.affiliation: Robert Koch Institute, Berlin 13353, Germany. dornerb@rki.de.
authors.forename: Brigitte G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Dorner
authors.affiliation: Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA. audrey.fischer@jhuapl.edu.
authors.forename: Audrey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fisher
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratories, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA. khill@lanl.gov.
authors.forename: Karen K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.affiliation: National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. skalb@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Suzanne R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Kalb
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland. hannu.korkeala@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Hannu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Korkeala
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00014, Finland. miia.lindstrom@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Miia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.affiliation: Army Medical and Veterinary Research Center, Rome 00184, Italy. romano.lista@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Florigio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lista
authors.affiliation: National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. cluquez@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lúquez
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Bactéries anaérobies et Toxines, Paris 75015, France. christelle.mazuet@pasteur.fr.
authors.forename: Christelle
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mazuet
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Sciences Department, University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy. marcopiraz@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pirazzini
authors.affiliation: Institut Pasteur, Bactéries anaérobies et Toxines, Paris 75015, France. mpopoff@pasteur.fr.
authors.forename: Michel R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Popoff
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Sciences Department, University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy. ornella.rossetto@unipd.it.
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rossetto
authors.affiliation: Institut für Toxikologie, Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Hannover 30623, Germany. Rummel.Andreas@mh-hannover.de.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rummel
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, a Centre of Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Hertfordshire EN6 3QG, UK. thea.sesardic@nibsc.org.
authors.forename: Dorothea
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sesardic
authors.affiliation: Botulinum Research Center, Institute of Advanced Sciences, Dartmouth, MA 02747, USA. bsingh@inads.org.
authors.forename: Bal Ram
authors.initials: BR
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Institute of Food Research, Norwich NR4 7UA, UK. Sandra.Stringer@ifr.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Sandra C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Stringer
mesh_terms: D001905:Botulinum Toxins / Q000145:classification* / Q000266:history; D032921:Consensus; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D001905:Botulinum Toxins
keywords: Clostridium botulinum; botulinum; botulism; guidelines; neurotoxins; nomenclature; subtypes