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Mycoplasma is a genus of small bacteria which lack cell walls. Several species are pathogenic in humans, including M. pneumoniae, which is an important cause of pneumonia and other respiratory disorders, and M. genitalium, which is involved in pelvic inflammatory diseases.
Mycoplasma are members of the class Mollicutes. Mollicutes are bacteria which have small genomes, lack a cell wall and have low G+C content (23-40 mol%).There are over 100 recognised species. Their genome size ranges from 0.6 - 1.35 Gbp, and cholesterol is required for growth. Their optimum growth temperature is 37 degrees centigrade. Mycoplasmas are parasites of humans, animals, insects and plants. It is widely believed that Mycoplasmas are descendants of the Lactobacillus-Clostridium branch of the phylogenetic tree (Firmicutes sensu stricto).
External links
- Compare (http://wikibooks.org/wiki/Biology_Cell_biology_Introduction_Cell_size) the size of these small bacteria to the sizes of other cells and viruses.
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