Editing Mycobacterium (section)

=== Physiology ===
Many ''Mycobacterium'' species readily grow with minimal nutrients, using [[ammonia]] and/or [[amino acid]]s as nitrogen sources and [[glycerol]] as a carbon source in the presence of mineral salts. Temperatures for optimal growth vary between species and media conditions, ranging from 25 to 45&nbsp;°C.<ref name="Forbes_2018"/>

Most ''Mycobacterium'' species, including most clinically relevant species, can be cultured in [[blood agar]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Lagier JC, Edouard S, Pagnier I, Mediannikov O, Drancourt M, Raoult D | title = Current and past strategies for bacterial culture in clinical microbiology | journal = Clinical Microbiology Reviews | volume = 28 | issue = 1 | pages = 208–236 | date = January 2015 | pmid = 25567228 | pmc = 4284306 | doi = 10.1128/CMR.00110-14 }}</ref> However, some species grow very slowly due to extremely long reproductive cycles, such as ''[[M. leprae]]'' requiring 12 days per division cycle compared to 20 minutes for some ''E. coli'' strains.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Shepard CC, Mcrae DH | title = Mycobacterium leprae in Mice: Minimal Infectious Dose, Relationship Between Staining Quality and Infectivity, and Effect of Cortisone | journal = Journal of Bacteriology | volume = 89 | issue = 2 | pages = 365–372 | date = February 1965 | pmid = 14255702 | pmc = 305516 | doi = 10.1128/jb.89.2.365-372.1965 }}</ref>