Mycoplasma genitalium

Valeria Fabre, M.D.
Mycoplasma genitalium is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins ABX Guide.

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MICROBIOLOGY

  • Aerobic, fastidious organism, member of the Mollicutes.
    • Difficult to cultivate.
    • Grows very slowly (≥2 days to detect any colonies and longer to identify species). Colonies have a "fried egg" appearance on agar (denser in the center and less dense in the periphery).
  • Differ from bacteria due to smaller size, presence of sterols in the membrane and lack of a cell wall. The latter makes them intrinsically resistant to penicillin and other agents that target the cell wall.
  • Colonizes male and female genitourinary tract.

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MICROBIOLOGY

  • Aerobic, fastidious organism, member of the Mollicutes.
    • Difficult to cultivate.
    • Grows very slowly (≥2 days to detect any colonies and longer to identify species). Colonies have a "fried egg" appearance on agar (denser in the center and less dense in the periphery).
  • Differ from bacteria due to smaller size, presence of sterols in the membrane and lack of a cell wall. The latter makes them intrinsically resistant to penicillin and other agents that target the cell wall.
  • Colonizes male and female genitourinary tract.

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Last updated: February 5, 2023