Query: NC_010163:145808 Acholeplasma laidlawii PG-8A chromosome, complete genome
Lineage: Acholeplasma laidlawii; Acholeplasma; Acholeplasmataceae; Acholeplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: Acholeplasma species are widely distributed in the nature and can be detected and isolated from different plant, avian, and mammalian sources. Acholeplasma laidlawii is found in soil, compost, wastewaters, cell cultures as well as in human tissues and in many animal species (birds, bovine, goat, equine, ovine, porcine, feline, rodent, primates). Acholeplasma laidlawii is capable of synthesizing glucose using a pyrophosphate-dependent 6-phosphofructokinase which has also been detected in other acholeplasmas (a good example of flexible metabolism). Additionally, Acholeplasma laidlawii and phytoplasmas are the only mollicutes known to use the universal genetic code, in which UGA is a stop codon.
Subject: NC_005364:1133962 Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC str. PG1, complete genome
Lineage: Mycoplasma mycoides; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasmataceae; Mycoplasmatales; Tenericutes; Bacteria
General Information: Causative agent of contagious pleuropneumonia in livestock. This genus belongs to the class Mollicutes (phylum Tenericutes), a taxonomic group of small (0.3-0.8 micron diameter) monoderm bacteria characterized by the lack of cell walls, reduced genome sizes, and obligate parasitic lifestyles (Krieg et al., 2010). Over 120 obligate parasitic species found in a wide spectrum of hosts, including humans, animals, insects and plants. Infection typically proceeds through the attachment of bacteria to host cells via assorted adhesins or, in some species, through highly specialized surface protein appendages. In some cases, subsequent invasion of host cells results in a prolonged intracellular persistence that may cause lethality. These adaptive strategies are involved in host cell attachment and invasion, as well as immune evasion. Although mycoplasmas are dependent on their association with eukaryotic host tissue in nature, most can be cultivated axenically if their fastidious growth requirements are met. Nearly all mycoplasmas derive energy only from glycolytic pathways, whereas some can hydrolyze arginine. Assigned to the genus Mycoplasma by historic taxonomic precedent, organism in the Mycoplasma mycoides phylogenetic cluster are in fact more closely related to other genera in the Mollicutes (Krieg et al., 2010).