Nomenclature for bacteria and general principles for formatting
| Formatting | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| Genus | Italicised, uppercase first letter | Neisseria |
| Species | Italicised, lowercase | gonorrhoeae |
| Condition | Not italicised, lowercase except when used at start of a sentence | gonorrhoea (UK), gonorrhea (US) |
| Abbreviation of genus | May be used when several species from the same genus are being named or the same species is mentioned repeatedly. Write the genus in full the first time, then abbreviate with a full stop after the initial | “The sample contained Neisseria gonorrhoeae, N. meningitidis and N. lactamica” |
| Unknown species | If the precise species is not known, use sp. If there is more than one species, use spp. | “The condition was caused by a Neisseria sp.” “They identified several Neisseria spp. in the sample” |