A numericlature of the yeasts.

A numericlature, based on a descriptive numerical code has been compiled for the yeasts. A total of 429 yeast species are represented by 389 unique four-, six- or seven-digit numbers and of these 364 correspond to single species. It is suggested that the coding method is a valid alternative to binomial nomenclature based on a conventional hierarchical classification. It can serve as a simple reference system and can be used practically as a means of differentiating between large numbers of new isolates of yeasts.