Mycobacterium ulcerans
| Mycobacterium ulcerans | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Mycobacterium ulcerans | ||||||||||||
| MacCallum et al. 1950 |
Mycobacterium ulcerans is the causative agent of Buruli ulcer , a tropical skin disease in humans, and a representative of the group of atypical mycobacteria ( MOTT ).
Morphology and classification
Mycobacterium ulcerans is a gram-positive , acid-fast, slowly growing rod. Within the group of atypical mycobacteria, M. ulcerans is classified as a non-photochromogenic species, which means that it does not produce any pigments after exposure to light.
habitat
Mycobacterium ulcerans is thought to be found in humid regions of tropical and subtropical latitudes from Africa to Latin America and Asia to Australia, and stagnant water is probably a habitat.
Pathogenicity
A toxin produced by the bacterium , mycolacton , has a tissue-destroying effect and also inhibits the immune response . The damaging effect on the infected organism is based on this. The disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans is Buruli ulcer , an ulcerative (ulcerative) infection of the skin and underlying tissues.
further reading
- Hong H, Coutanceau E, Leclerc M, Caleechurn L, Leadlay PF, Demangel C: Mycolactone diffuses from Mycobacterium ulcerans-infected tissues and targets mononuclear cells in peripheral blood and lymphoid organs . In: PLoS Negl Trop Dis . 2, No. 10, 2008, p. E325. doi : 10.1371 / journal.pntd.0000325 . PMID 18941518 . PMC 2565835 (free full text).
Individual evidence
- Sybe Hartmans, Jan AM De Bont, Erko Stackebrandt: The Genus Mycobacterium — Nonmedical , In: The Prokaryotes , 3: 889-918, 2006, doi : 10.1007 / 0-387-30743-5_33
- Beatrice Saviola, William Bishai: The Genus Mycobacterium-Medical , In: The Prokaryotes , 3: 919-933, 2006, doi : 10.1007 / 0-387-30743-5_34
