Mycobacterium phlei is a species of acid-fast bacteria in the genus Mycobacterium.[1] It is characterized as one of the fast-growing mycobacteria. M. phlei has only occasionally been isolated in human infections, and patients infected with M. phlei generally respond well to anti-mycobacterial therapy. M. phlei has an unusually high GC-content of 73%.
Description
M. phlei is a rod-shaped bacterium 1.0 to 2.0 micrometers in length.[2] If grown on an agar plate, M. phlei colonies appear orange to yellow in color, and predominantly dense with smooth edges, although some smaller filamentous colonies have also been described.[2] Like other mycobacteria, M. phlei retains the acid-fast stain. M. phlei can grow at temperatures ranging from 28 °C to 52 °C.[2]
History
M. phlei was first identified as the "Timothy Bacillus" or "Grass Bacillus I" by the German microbiologist Alfred Moëller in 1898.[2] The following year, the bacterium was given its current name by Karl Bernhard Lehmann and Rudolf Otto Neumann.[2]
This bacterium was extensively studied by Brodie and collaborators,[3] in connection with the metabolism and role of vitamin K2.
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