Therapylum

Therapylum is a term used in speculative biology and certain science-fiction and philosophical discussions to describe a proposed high-level taxonomic grouping intended to encompass organisms that have therapeutic effects on hosts, or that participate in healing- or health-modulating processes. It is not an officially recognized taxon in the Linnaean or modern phylogenetic frameworks, and there is no formal diagnostic criterion for membership.

Origin and meaning: The coinage combines therapy or therapeutic action with -phylum, following conventions for taxonomic ranks. In uses where it appears, therapylum is meant to be functional rather than strictly phylogenetic, emphasizing ecological or biomedical roles over lineage. Because of this, it is often framed as a heuristic or thought-experiment rather than a formal classification.

Conceptual framework: Proponents imagine therapylum as including diverse lineages whose members produce bioactive compounds, modulate immune responses, repair tissue, or stabilize microbiomes. Because health effects can be host- and context-dependent, membership is typically defined by functional traits (for example, production of anti-inflammatory metabolites) rather than strict evolutionary relationships. In most discussions the term serves as a conceptual tool to discuss the relationships between organisms and health outcomes, rather than a formal taxonomic category.

Limitations and reception: The term has no formal status in taxonomy and is not used in peer-reviewed systematics. Critics note that functional classifications can conflate different lineages and create taxonomic confusion unless clearly defined and limited to hypothetical or fictional contexts. In world-building and speculative essays, therapylum can aid discourse on the microbiome, symbiosis, and biomedicine, but it remains outside mainstream taxonomy.

See also: taxonomy, phylum, microbiome, probiotics, therapeutic agents, symbiosis.