Mycobacterium is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis and leprosy in humans. The Greek prefix myco- means 'fungus', alluding to this genus' mold-like colony surfaces. Since this genus has cell walls with a waxy lipid-rich outer layer that contains high concentrations of mycolic acid, acid-fast staining is used to emphasize their resistance to acids, compared to other cell types.
Mycobacterium smegmatis is an acid-fast bacterial species in the phylum Actinomycetota and the genus Mycobacterium. It is 3.0 to 5.0 µm long with a bacillus shape and can be stained by Ziehl–Neelsen method and the auramine-rhodamine fluorescent method. It was first reported in November 1884 by Lustgarten, who found a bacillus with the staining appearance of tubercle bacilli in syphilitic chancres. Subsequent to this, Alvarez and Tavel found organisms similar to that described by Lustgarten also in normal genital secretions (smegma). This organism was later named M. smegmatis.
Mycobacterium asiaticum is a slowly growing photochromogenic mycobacterium first isolated from monkeys in 1965. M. asiaticum can, but rarely, causes human pulmonary disease.
Mycobacterium bohemicum is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium chubuense is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium diernhoferi is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium duvalii is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium farcinogenes is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium flavescens is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium fortuitum is a nontuberculous species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium gadium is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium gastri is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium gilvum is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium hassiacum is a rapid-growing thermophilic mycobacterium that was isolated in human urine in 1997 by researchers at the German University of Regensburg. It's a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacteroides immunogenum is a species of bacteria from the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacteroides.
Mycobacterium interjectum is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium intermedium is a species of the phylum Actinomycetota, belonging to the genus Mycobacterium.
Mycobacterium avium complex is a group of mycobacteria comprising Mycobacterium intracellulare and Mycobacterium avium that are commonly grouped because they infect humans together; this group, in turn, is part of the group of nontuberculous mycobacteria. These bacteria cause Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections or Mycobacterium avium complex infections in humans. These bacteria are common and are found in fresh and salt water, in household dust and in soil. MAC bacteria usually cause infection in those who are immunocompromised or those with severe lung disease.
Mycobacterium kansasii is a bacterium in the Mycobacterium genus. It is an environmental bacteria that causes opportunistic infections in humans, and is one of the leading mycobacterial causes of human disease after tuberculosis and leprosy.
Mycobacterium tusciae is a slow-growing, scotochromogenic mycobacterium first isolated from a lymph node of an immunocompromised child and subsequently from tap water and from a respiratory specimen of a patient with chronic fibrosis. Etymology: tusciae referring to the Italian region of Tuscany, where the organisms were first isolated.
