Mycoplasma orale
Mycoplasma orale is a small bacterium found in the class Mollicutes. It belongs to the genus Mycoplasma, a well-known group of bacterial parasites that inhabit humans. It also is known to be an opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised humans. As with other Mycoplasma species, M. orale is not readily treated with many antibiotics due to its lack of a peptidoglycan cell wall. Therefore, this species is relevant to the medical field as physicians face the task of treating patients infected with this microbe. It is characterized by a small physical size (0.1 micrometer in diameter on average), a small genome size, and a limited metabolism. It is also known to frequently contaminate laboratory experiments. This bacteria is very similar physiologically and morphologically to its sister species within the genus Mycoplasma; however, its recent discovery leaves many questions still unanswered about this microbe. Discovery and isolation Taylor-Robinson et al. identified and named M. orale in 1964 after isolating it from the oral cavity of a child at a Washington hospital and three servicemen stationed in North Carolina. Taylor-Robinson et al. cultured the organism under anaerobic conditions on PPLO agar and broth. The resulting colony growth had a "fried egg" appearance when cultured