A.cho.le.plas'ma. Gr. pref.
a
not; Gr. n.
chole
bile; Gr. neut. n.
plasma
something formed or molded, a form; N.L. neut. n.
Acholeplasma
name intended to indicate that cholesterol, a constituent of bile, is not required.
Tenericutes / Mollicutes / Acholeplasmatales / Acholeplasmataceae / Acholeplasma
Cells are
spherical
, with a diameter of about 300 nm, or
filamentous
, 2–5 µm long.
Nonmotile
. Colonies have a “
fried‐egg
”
appearance
and may reach 2–3 mm in diameter. Facultatively anaerobic; most strains grow readily in simple media. All members
lack a sterol requirement for growth. Chemo‐organotrophic
, most species utilizing glucose and other sugars as the major energy sources. Many strains are capable of fatty acid biosynthesis from acetate. Arginine and urea are not hydrolyzed. Pigmented carotenoids occur in some species. All species are resistant, or only slightly susceptible, to 1.5% digitonin. Saprophytes found in soil, compost, wastewaters, or commensals of vertebrates, insects, or plants. None are known to be a primary pathogen, but they may cause cytopathic effects in tissue cultures. The
genome sizes
range from about
1500 to 2100 kbp
. All species examined utilize the universal genetic code in which UGA is a stop codon.
DNA G
+
C content
(
mol
%): 27–38.
Type species
:
Acholeplasma laidlawii
(Sabin 1941) Edward and Freundt 1970, 1
AL
(
Sapromyces laidlawi
Sabin 1941, 334).