Editing Mycobacterium (section)

{{Short description|Genus of bacteria}}
{{Good article}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Mycobacterium tuberculosis 01.jpg
| image_caption = [[Transmission electron microscopy|TEM]] [[micrograph]] of ''M. tuberculosis''
| taxon = Mycobacterium
| authority = Lehmann & Neumann 1896<ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Lehmann KB, Neumann R | title = Atlas und Grundriss der Bakteriologie und Lehrbuch der speziellen bakteriologischen Diagnostik | trans-title =Atlas and Outline of Bacteriology and Textbook of Special Bacteriological Diagnostics | edition = 1st | publisher = J.F. Lehmann | location = München | year = 1896}}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = Over 190 species, see [https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/mycobacterium LPSN]
| synonyms =
* ''Mycolicibacterium'' <small>Gupta et al. 2018</small>
* ''[[Mycolicibacillus]]'' <small>Gupta et al. 2018</small>
* ''Mycolicibacter'' <small>Gupta et al. 2018</small>
* ''Mycobacteroides'' <small>Gupta et al. 2018</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="LPSN">{{cite web |vauthors=Euzéby JP, Parte AC |url=https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/mycobacterium |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707151904/https://lpsn.dsmz.de/genus/mycobacterium |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 7, 2020 |title=''Mycobacterium'' |access-date=June 16, 2021 |publisher=[[List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature]] (LPSN) }}</ref>
}}

'''''Mycobacterium''''' is a [[genus]] of over 190 species in the phylum [[Actinomycetota]], assigned its own family, [[Mycobacteriaceae]]. This genus includes [[pathogen]]s known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including [[tuberculosis]] (''[[Mycobacterium tuberculosis|M. tuberculosis]]'') and [[leprosy]] (''[[Mycobacterium leprae|M. leprae]]'') in humans. The [[Greek language|Greek]] prefix ''myco-'' means 'fungus', alluding to this genus' [[Mold (fungus)|mold]]-like colony surfaces.<ref name="Mycobacteria_1999">{{Cite report |url=https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-10/documents/mycobacteria-report.pdf |title=Mycobacteria: Health Advisory | work = Environmental Protection Agency |date=August 1999}}</ref> Since this genus has [[cell wall]]s with a waxy lipid-rich outer layer containing high concentrations of mycolic acid,<ref name="pmid32470138">{{cite journal |vauthors=Batt SM, Minnikin DE, Besra GS |title=The thick waxy coat of mycobacteria, a protective layer against antibiotics and the host's immune system |journal=The Biochemical Journal |volume=477 |issue=10 |pages=1983–2006 |date=May 2020 |pmid=32470138 |pmc=7261415 |doi=10.1042/BCJ20200194 |url=}}</ref> [[acid-fast staining]] is used to emphasize their resistance to acids, compared to other cell types.<ref name="Pennington_2021">{{cite journal | vauthors = Pennington KM, Vu A, Challener D, Rivera CG, Shweta FN, Zeuli JD, Temesgen Z | title = Approach to the diagnosis and treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease | journal = Journal of Clinical Tuberculosis and Other Mycobacterial Diseases | volume = 24 | pages = 100244 | date = August 2021 | pmid = 34036184 | pmc = 8135042 | doi = 10.1016/j.jctube.2021.100244 }}</ref>

Mycobacterial species are generally aerobic, non-motile, and capable of growing with minimal nutrition. The genus is divided based on each species' pigment production and growth rate.<ref name="Forbes_2018">{{cite journal | vauthors = Forbes BA, Hall GS, Miller MB, Novak SM, Rowlinson MC, Salfinger M, Somoskövi A, Warshauer DM, Wilson ML | display-authors = 6 | title = Practical Guidance for Clinical Microbiology Laboratories: Mycobacteria | journal = Clinical Microbiology Reviews | volume = 31 | issue = 2 | pages = e00038–17 | date = April 2018 | pmid = 29386234 | pmc = 5967691 | doi = 10.1128/CMR.00038-17 }}</ref> While most ''Mycobacterium'' species are non-pathogenic, the genus' characteristic complex cell wall contributes to evasion from host defenses.<ref name="Dulberger_2020" />