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Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Mycobacterium ulcerans
Category: Primarily of interest in human medicin
Etymology: Genus name: small fungus-like rod.
Species epithet: cause ulceration
Significance:  [Of minor importance]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Actinomycetota
Class
Actinomycetia
Order
Mycobacteriales
Family
Mycobacteriaceae 
Genus
Mycobacterium
Type Strain: ATCC 19423 =NTCC 10417
Macromorphology (smell):
Micromorphology: Acid-fast rods
Gram +/Gram -:G+ (but difficult to gram stain)
Catalase/Oxidase:
Spec. Char.: M. ulcerans is a slow grower (it takes more than 7 days to see colonies with the naked eye).
Special Media:
Disease:Ulcerative skin infections.
HostsDiseaseClinical picture
HumansBuruli ulcerUlcerative skin infections in certain areas of the world, such as Sub-Saharan Africa and Australia. Begin as a swollen bump on the arm or leg, which expands after some weeks. Affected skin sloughs off leaving a painless ulcer with "undermined edges", with a few centimeters wider underneath the skin than the wound itself.
Virulence Factors: Forms an extrcellular heat-labile toxin.
16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
X88926 Borstel 10564/70 1457  

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
Mycobacterium ulcerans  
About 175 species have been described within genus Mycobacterium and this genus is closely related to Rhodococcus, Nocardia and Corynebacterium. M. ulcerans is very closely related to M. marinum.
Updated:2023-11-10

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