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A proposal for a descriptive and convenient system of genetic nomenclature for bacteria was drafted by the staff and a number of visitors at Cold Spring Harbor in the summer of 1958 (Demerec, 1958). The proposal had as its basis a system developed by Demerec (1956), which largely adhered to previous genetic conventions yet avoided the complications that have developed in the genetic descriptions of some organisms. At conferences held during the summers of 1962 and 1963 the proposal was critically reviewed and revised in accordance with the increased number of genetic markers available, with usage in other areas (e.g. protein chemistry), with suitability for computer analysis, and with interim developments in bacterial genetics (Demerec, The current proposal is an outgrowth of its predecessors, developed by the present authors in consultation with colleagues in other laboratories and in other countries. The basic system has proven convenient to use in the laboratory and has greatly facilitated understanding and communication among many laboratories in the intervening years; increasing use of the system also speaks for its practicality. Thus this proposal does not intend to present a rigid, 'official', frozen system of nomenclature. The system is bound to evolve as knowledge advances in the future. The present communication is aimed at making widely available the proposal as developed to date. Comments, suggestions, and additions are welcome. The aims of the present proposal are: uniformity; a unique designation for each strain ; convenience for typing, editing, printing, record-keeping, and information retrieval ; and adaptability, simplicity, clarity, and comprehension by workers in all areas of biology; adaptability to new developments in the foreseeable future. The proposal takes the form of a set of guiding principles for dealing with categories where usage can be clearly defined; application to specific situations is left to each individual worker. The standardized system of genetic symbols is designed to serve the following purposes : (I) To distinguish clearly between symbols representing the genotype of a bacterial strain, and abbreviations of words which describe phenotypic properties. (2) To provide a uniform set of symbols for genetic loci, mutant alleles and mutation 1963).

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