BISMiS Live

Biosketch: William ‘Barny’ Whitman received his PhD in microbiology from The University of Texas in Austin in the laboratory of F. Robert Tabita. His training was completed at the University of Illinois in Urbana in the laboratory of Ralph S. Wolfe. When he started his own laboratory at the University of Georgia in 1982, he initially focused on developing genetic systems in the methanogenic archaeon Methanococcus as well the pathway of autotrophic CO2 assimilation. Since then, his research has focused on the physiology, systematics and ecology of environmentally important microorganisms. He is currently an Emeritus Professor at the University of Georgia where systematics has been a central part of his work. His laboratory developed one of the most popular methods for determination of the mol % G+C [Mesbah et al. 1989. Int J Sys Bacteriol 39:159-167] and helped describe more than twenty new species. From 1986-2001, he was Secretary of the International Committee on Systematics of Bacteria (ICSB) Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Methanogenic Bacteria and coauthored its first Minimal Standards [Boone and Whitman. 1988. Int J Syst Bacteriol. 38: 212-219]. From 1995-2001, he was an Associate Editor of the International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, and in 2000 received the Bergey’s Award from the Bergey’s Manual Trust. In 2006, he joined the Bergey’s Manual Trust and became the Supervising Editor of the Manual, a post in which he still serves. His work as an editor of Bergey’s Manual on the Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria has strongly informed his opinions on prokaryotic systematics. From 2014-2020, he served as Treasurer and member of the Executive Board of the ICSP. Since 2022, he served on the Executive Board of the Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data (SeqCode) Committee. He has also been the Treasurer of Bergey’s International Society for Microbial Systematics (BISMiS) since its founding, which is strange being that he is not very political.

Biosketch: Dr. Teo Wee Fei Aaron is a microbiologist specializing in prokaryotic systematics and taxonomy, with particular expertise in genome-based classification, nomenclature, and the integration of phenotypic and phylogenomic data. He currently serves as Executive Editor of Current Microbiology and holds editorial roles with the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology and BMC Microbiology.
He is the Secretary of Bergey’s International Society for Microbial Systematics (BISMiS) and actively contributes to international efforts in advancing microbial nomenclature and taxonomy, including engagement with the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes and the broader systematics community. His work focuses on improving standards for the description of prokaryotic taxa, ensuring reproducibility, and supporting the integration of modern genomic approaches within evolving nomenclatural frameworks.
In this session, he will present recent perspectives on best practices and common challenges in the description of prokaryotic taxa, based on the recently published article: Notes on the Description of Novel Prokaryotic Taxa (Current Microbiology, 2026, 83:152; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-025-04619-x)

Biosketch: Nathan Ernster is a PhD student in the Rodriguez-R group at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he is studying microdiversity across Yellowstone hot springs, and atmospheric microbial transport and deposition on the Greenland ice sheet. His background includes a MSc in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno and the Desert Research Institute, as well as interdisciplinary positions in mountain hydrology and polar science support.

Program: General overview of the work of the ICSP; recruitment of new members; Subcommittees on Taxonomy.
Chair: Edward Moore, University of Gothenburg & CCUG, Gothenburg.

The new version of the ICSP Statutes; the 2025 revision of the ICNP.
Executive Secretary: Aharon Oren, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem.

Section 10 of the ICNP: Candidatus names and pro-valid publication; presentation of the Ad Hoc Committee on Mitigating Changes in Prokaryotic Nomenclature and the List of Recommended Names for bacteria of medical importance
Judicial Commission Ex Officio Member: Markus Göker, Leibnitz Institute - DSMZ, Braunschweig

The work of the Judicial Commission; Outreach.
Judicial Commission Ex Officio Member: Maria del Carmen Montero-Calasanz, IFAPA, Sevilla.

Outlook; preview of the composition of the Executive Board for the new term.
Chair: Edward Moore, University of Gothenburg & CCUG, Gothenburg.

Biosketch: Dr. Jia is a CAS Distinguished Professor. He obtained PhD (2002) at the CAS Institute of Soil Science, followed by postdoctoral work at USDA/ARS, Nagoya University (Japan), and Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology (Germany). Dr. Jia was awarded CAS 100-Talent Program (2008); ‘Best-of-the-best Awardees’ (2012); Distinguished Professor (2015). His interests are ecophysiology of nitrogen-cycling microorganisms with emphasis on ammonia and methane oxidizers. He has published more than 260 papers including ~180 papers in peer-reviewed journals in English, and organized 9 training workshop and class about Stable-isotope probing of soil microbiome and omics techniques with >1000 trainees from 18 different countries/regions including 52 research institutions and Universities. Dr. Jia has served as associate Editor-in-Chief/Editor/Editorial members for 9 journals. Dr. Jia has been co-PIs of China Soil Microbiome Initiative (2014-2019) and China Black Soil Initiative (2021-2026). Dr. Jia has received many honors and prizes as a core member including Top 10 scientific and technological advances for Black Soil Conservation and Utilization in China in 2025 and Outstanding Science and Technology Achievement Prize of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2024.

Biosketch: Maite Ortúzar is currently an Assistant Researcher at Sun Yat-sen University, China. She completed her PhD at the University of Salamanca (Spain) in September 2023, where her research focused on plant-associated microbiomes, microbial diversity, and plant–microbe interactions using culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches. Her research interests include microbial ecology, environmental microbiology, microbial evolution, and the characterization of uncultivated microbial lineages through multi-omics approaches. Her research encompasses bioremediation, including pharmaceutical degradation, heavy metal removal, and the development of synthetic microbial communities for ecosystem restoration. She has gained international research experience at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (Germany). Her current research focuses on microbial dark matter and extremophile microbiology, particularly sulfide-oxidizing and chemoautotrophic microorganisms from geothermal ecosystems, using genome-resolved metagenomics and enrichment strategies to explore uncultivated Bacteria and Archaea. Dr. Ortúzar has published 15 peer-reviewed articles, including five as first author accumulating more than 650 citations. She has received competitive funding from different National and International competitive calls such as FEMS and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation and has participated in international projects on sustainable agriculture, soil restoration, microbial ecology, and biotechnology applications. She is a member of the Spanish Society for Microbiology (SEM) and the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME), and has presented her research at 15 international conferences. Her interdisciplinary expertise integrates microbiology, genomics, ecology, and computational biology to understand microbial diversity, adaptation, and evolution across diverse ecosystems.

Biosketch: Under preparation

Biosketch: Under preparation

Biosketch: Under preparation