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Mycoplasma is a genus of bacteria that can cause specific medical conditions in humans. They have no cell walls, making them difficult to isolate and less sensitive to antibiotics. They often contaminate cell cultures in the lab and have been linked to various diseases, including autoimmune diseases. Treatment is available with antibiotics.
Mycoplasma is a bacterial genus that contains over 100 species. Most species are harmless, but many appear to be virulent and have been linked to specific medical conditions in humans. These bacteria are extremely small, with a very simple genome that contains only the basic information needed for life. The small nature of Mycoplasma bacteria forces many of them to be parasites, because they cannot survive on their own.
These bacteria were first isolated and described in the late 1800s, although early researchers were unable to specifically identify the bacteria in their isolates. However, they knew that the isolated material they’d refined in the lab contained bacteria, even though they couldn’t see it, and this set the stage for further research with better microscopes and scientific imaging devices that allowed researchers to identify the bacteria.
An interesting thing about bacteria of this genus is that they have no cell walls. Their lack of cell walls leads them to have a very elastic shape that can vary at any given time, one of the reasons it has been so difficult to isolate and confirm the presence of Mycoplasma in the laboratory. These bacteria are also less sensitive to many commonly used drugs, as antibiotics often target the cell wall, and mycoplasma has no cell walls to cling to.
These gram-negative bacteria often contaminate cell cultures in the laboratory, creating colonies with a characteristic fried-egg appearance caused by a concentration of bacteria in the center of the colony and dispersal around the edges. Viewed under a microscope, the thick concentration resembles the yolk of a fried egg, while the thinner population around the edges looks like white.
A species of Mycoplasma, M. pneumoniae, causes atypical pneumonia, also known as walking pneumonia. Other species have been linked to pelvic inflammatory disease, more general respiratory infections, and several chronic diseases. In people with conditions such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, unusually large numbers of Mycoplasma bacteria have been noted, suggesting that the bacteria may play a role in the condition. Some research has also implicated the bacteria in autoimmune diseases.
While these bacteria are not as vulnerable to antibiotics as one might wish, there are several medications that can be used to successfully treat Mycoplasma infection. In a mild infection, the body often fights off the bacteria on its own, requiring little support. For more serious infections, a variety of antibiotic medications are available.
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