= T. E. Patt
{c}
T. E. Patt is the published name of a <microbiologist> credited with the original description of <Methylobacterium> and its <type species>, <Methylobacterium organophilum>. The 1976 paper, written with collaborators, gives Patt's initials and a University of Wisconsin bacteriology affiliation; these identify the scientific contribution without requiring an inferred full name.<Methylobacterium, a New Genus of Facultatively Methylotrophic Bacteria by T. E. Patt and others>[Published byline, affiliation and Abstract]{ref}
The description combined several kinds of evidence, including pink colonies, rod-shaped cells, cellular ultrastructure, <DNA> base composition and growth on different <carbon sources>. This is more informative for <taxonomy> than classifying an isolate solely by colony color. The proposed <type species> was distinguished by the range of organic substrates it could use, linking the naming decision to measured <metabolism>.<Methylobacterium, a New Genus of Facultatively Methylotrophic Bacteria by T. E. Patt and others>[Abstract: morphology, substrate use and type strain]{ref}
A simple conceptual comparison shows why growth conditions matter. Imagine two isolates with equally pink colonies: isolate A can grow with either a one-carbon substrate or a tested substrate containing carbon–carbon bonds, whereas isolate B grows only with the first. Color alone cannot distinguish those metabolic capabilities. Conversely, failure to grow in one <culture medium> does not establish inability to use its <carbon source> if another required nutrient is absent. A meaningful comparison needs suitable controls and must separate substrate use from general failure of the <bacterial culture>.
Patt's paper is historical evidence for a particular classification and set of observations. Its description of methane-related properties should not be extended automatically to every species currently placed in <Methylobacterium>. A <type strain> provides a reference for a name; it does not imply that every strain in the genus shares every phenotype under every condition.
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