Mycobacteroides | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Bacteria |
Phylum: | Actinomycetota |
Class: | Actinomycetia |
Order: | Mycobacteriales |
Family: | Mycobacteriaceae |
Genus: | Mycobacteroides Gupta et al. 2018[1] |
Type species | |
Mycobacteroides abscessus (Moore and Frerichs 1953) Gupta et al. 2018
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Species[2] | |
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Synonyms[3] | |
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Mycobacteroides is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae from the order Mycobacteriales.[1]
Members of Mycobacteroides were demarcated from the larger genus Mycobacterium in 2018 by Gupta et al. based on evidence from various phylogenetic trees constructed based on conserved genome sequences, comparative genomic analyses and average amino acid identity values.[1] In addition to this genus, the study proposed the division of Mycobacterium into a total of five distinct genera, which was met with some resistance by some of the scientific community. The resistance was based on the grounds that Mycobacterium contains some clinically relevant species and name changes might cause confusion among clinicians and other researchers.[4]
In 2020, Yamada et al. analyzed the fundamental morphological properties of the new genera, including the cell diameter, cell length, cell perimeter, cell circularity and aspect ratio, and determined that there were significant differences between the five genera, thus supporting the new division.[5]
The name Mycobacteroides is derived from the Latin noun Mycobacterium (referring to the bacterial genus) and the Latin suffix "-oides" (translates to "resembling"). Together the name refers to a genus resembling Mycobacterium.[1]