Editing Mycobacterium (section)

=== Morphology ===
[[File:Model of the Mycobacterial Cell Envelope.png|thumb|upright=1.5|Model of the ''Mycobacterium spp.'' cell envelope with 3-D protein structures]]

Mycobacteria are [[aerobic organism|aerobic]] with 0.2-0.6&nbsp;μm wide and 1.0-10&nbsp;μm long [[Bacillus (shape)|rod shapes]]. They are generally [[Non-motile bacteria|non-motile]], except for the species ''[[Mycobacterium marinum]]'', which has been shown to be motile within [[macrophage]]s.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Stamm LM, Morisaki JH, Gao LY, Jeng RL, McDonald KL, Roth R, Takeshita S, Heuser J, Welch MD, Brown EJ | display-authors = 6 | title = Mycobacterium marinum escapes from phagosomes and is propelled by actin-based motility | journal = The Journal of Experimental Medicine | volume = 198 | issue = 9 | pages = 1361–1368 | date = November 2003 | pmid = 14597736 | pmc = 2194249 | doi = 10.1084/jem.20031072 }}</ref> Mycobacteria possess [[Bacterial capsule|capsules]] and most do not form [[endospores]]. ''M. marinum'' and perhaps ''M. bovis'' have been shown to [[spore|sporulate]];<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ghosh J, Larsson P, Singh B, Pettersson BM, Islam NM, Sarkar SN, Dasgupta S, Kirsebom LA | display-authors = 6 | title = Sporulation in mycobacteria | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 106 | issue = 26 | pages = 10781–10786 | date = June 2009 | pmid = 19541637 | pmc = 2705590 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0904104106 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2009PNAS..10610781G }}</ref> however, this has been contested by further research.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Traag BA, Driks A, Stragier P, Bitter W, Broussard G, Hatfull G, Chu F, Adams KN, Ramakrishnan L, Losick R | display-authors = 6 | title = Do mycobacteria produce endospores? | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 107 | issue = 2 | pages = 878–881 | date = January 2010 | pmid = 20080769 | pmc = 2818926 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0911299107 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2010PNAS..107..878T }}</ref> The distinguishing characteristic of all ''Mycobacterium'' species is a thick, [[hydrophobic]], and [[mycolic acid]]-rich cell wall made of [[peptidoglycan]] and [[arabinogalactan]], with these unique components offering targets for new tuberculosis drugs.<ref name= BhamidiS>{{cite book | vauthors = Bhamidi S|year=2009|chapter=Mycobacterial Cell Wall Arabinogalactan|title=Bacterial Polysaccharides: Current Innovations and Future Trends|publisher=Caister Academic Press|isbn= 978-1-904455-45-5}}</ref>