WHAT IS MYCOPLASMA?

The name Mycoplasma, from the Greek mykes (fungus) and plasma (formed), was proposed in the 1950’s, replacing the term PPLO.

According to Baseman and Tully (1997), mycoplasmas are described as the smallest and simplest self-replicating bacteria. Unlike all other bacteria, the mycoplasmas have no cell wall, and they are, consequently, placed in a separate class called mollicutes (Answers.com, 2005)

The Mycoplasma organism has the capacity to invade cells, tissues and blood, producing systemic infections in numerous organs ( Walker, 1998). Mycoplasma proved very difficult to grow in the laboratory for research purposes, and remained a mystery for years. However, there are now over 200 species of mycoplasma identified (Baseman & Tully, 1997). Many cell-penetrating species such as M. fermentans, M. penetrans, M. pneumoniae, M. genitalium, M. pirum and M. hominis, are able to cause or promote a variety of diseases that tend to run a chronic course (Nicolson, et al., 1999).

(Created 6/10/05 by Sharon Briggs)