Submission declined on 14 February 2026 by JuniperChill (talk). This draft appears to contain text generated by a large language model (such as ChatGPT). You cannot use LLMs to generate article content. LLM-generated pages with certain obvious signs of being machine generated may be deleted without notice. Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. See the advice page on large language models for more information. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by JuniperChill 5 months ago. Last edited by Citation bot 24 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. StNiVe (talk) 13:59, 14 February 2026 (UTC)

The SeqCode, formally known as the Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes Described from Sequence Data ^[1], is a nomenclatural code that allows the naming of prokaryotic species using genome sequences as the primary type material. It was officially established on January 1, 2022, to address the growing need for systematic naming of uncultivated and fastidious prokaryotes, which are not accommodated by the traditional International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP)International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes.

Traditional prokaryotic nomenclature under the ICNP requires deposition of live type strains in at least two public culture collections in different countries. This requirement excludes the vast majority of prokaryotic species that are either unculturable or difficult for culture collections to maintain. With advances in metagenomics and single-cell genomics, researchers began identifying numerous new taxa directly from environmental DNA, leading to the realization that cultured prokaryotes represent only a small fraction of microbial diversity. To address this disparity, the SeqCode was developed as a complementary system to the ICNP. It allows genome sequences from metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs), or isolates to serve as the type material for species description.

• Genome-based Typification: Unlike the ICNP, which requires live strains, the SeqCode uses high-quality genome sequences as nomenclatural types.
• Inclusivity of Uncultivated Taxa: Enables naming of the vast majority of prokaryotes that cannot be cultured.
• Compatibility with ICNP: Recognizes names validly published under the ICNP before 2022, and names under the SeqCode compete for priority with ICNP names thereafter, in cases where different names are proposed for the same taxon.
• Online Registry: The SeqCode maintains a public online registry (https://seqco.de/) for validation and tracking of names.
• Data Standards: Requires deposition of type genome sequences and associated metadata in recognized databases such as INSDC.^[2]

The SeqCode is governed ^[3] by the SeqCode Committee, which includes the SeqCode Community and several elected administrative groups:

• Executive Board
• Legislative Commission: Handles amendments to the code.
• Reconciliation Commission: Interprets the code and resolves ambiguities.
• Registry and Nomenclature Working Group: Maintains the online registry and provides naming advice.
• Standards Working Group: Updates technical standards and genome quality requirements.

Membership in the SeqCode Community is open to persons involved in prokaryotic systematics.

The SeqCode allows names to be registered before or after the effective publication of a manuscript. ^[4]

There are two main pathways:

1. Path 1: Pre-publication registration with curator support.
2. Path 2: Post-publication registration of already published names.

Minimum genome quality standards (e.g., >90% completeness, <5% contamination for MAGs) are required, although justified exceptions are considered.

• Unified Taxonomy: Facilitates integration of cultured and uncultivated taxa into comprehensive taxonomic frameworks, such as the Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB).
• Naming Fastidious and Uncultivated Species: Provides a stable nomenclature for previously unnamed prokaryotes.
• Research Utility: Improves communication across disciplines and promotes reproducibility in microbial studies.
• Policy Compliance: Enables naming when strain deposition is restricted due to policies like the Nagoya Protocol.^[5]

While the ICNP does not currently recognize names formed under the SeqCode,^[6] the SeqCode is designed to complement the ICNP. SeqCode names have priority over subsequent ICNP names if there is a conflict such as cases where different names are proposed for the same taxon1. Long-term, proponents hope for eventual integration or mutual recognition between the two codes.

Critics have pointed to potential limitations of using genome sequences, such as loss of dynamic organism traits not captured in DNA. However, the SeqCode includes mechanisms for genome re-evaluation and future updates. Plans for improved automation of the registry and tools for Latin name generation are underway. The SeqCode represents a step toward a comprehensive and modern microbial nomenclature system aligned with the genomic era.