FAMILY I. MYCOPLASMATACEAE 



925 



Habitat: Frequently found as an inhabit- 

 ant of the human genital and rectal mucosa. 

 The etiological implications of this organism 

 in non-gonococcal urethritis and other in- 

 flammatory conditions of the lower genital 

 tract are still obscure. 



13. Mycoplasma salivarium Edward, 

 1955. (Human type 4, Nicol and Edward, 

 Brit. Jour. Vener. Dis., 29, 1953, 148; also 

 see Edward, Jour. Gen. Microbiol., 10, 



1954, 55; Edward, in Freundt, Internat. 

 Bull, of Bact. Nomen. and Taxon., 5, 1955, 

 73; see Edward, Internat. Bull, of Bact. 

 Nomen. and Taxon., 5, 1955, 90.) 



sa.li.va'ri.um. L. adj. salivarius salivary, 

 slimy; intended to mean of saliva. 



Morphological characters not recorded. 

 Gram-negative. 



Horse-serum agar: A film and spots may 

 or may not be produced. 



Horse-blood agar: No hemolj-sis. 



Rabbit-serum agar: Very good growth. 



Semi -solid media: Smooth growth, best 

 near the bottom. 



Glucose is not attacked. 



Growth is improved by the addition of 

 thymonucleic acid upon primary isolation. 



Methylene blue is slowly reduced. 



Anaerobic on primary isolation. 



Serologically distinct from the genital 

 species. 



Pathogenicity: Not tested. 



Comments: Other strains isolated from 

 the mouth and pharynx in humans by Smith 

 and Morton (Science, 113, 1951, 623), Mor- 

 ton et al. (Jour. Dent. Res., SO, 1951, 415), 

 Dienes and Madoff (Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol, 

 and Med., 82, 1953, 36) and by Freundt 

 (Acta Path, et Microbiol. Scand., 34, 1954, 

 127) appear to differ from Mycoplasma sali- 

 varium Edward in their growth and cultural 

 properties. Additional comparative studies 

 are needed before the relationships of these 

 organisms can be ascertained. 



Source: Isolated from human saliva. 



14. Mycoplasma fermentans Edward, 



1955. (G strains, Ruiter and Wentholt, Jour. 

 Invest. Dermat., 18, 1952, 322; also see Acta 

 Dermat. Venereol., S3, 1953, 123 and 130; 

 human type 3, Nicol and Edward, Brit. 

 Jour. Vener. Dis., 29, 1953, 147; also see 



Edward, Jour. Gen. Microbiol., 10, 1954, 54 

 and 55; Micromyces hominis, group II, 

 Freundt, Acta Path, et Microbiol. Scand., 

 34, 1954, 143; also see Atti del VI Congresso 

 Internazionale di Microbiologia, Roma, 1, 

 1953, 138; Edward, in Freundt, Internat. 

 Bull, of Bact. Nomen. and Taxon., 5, 1955, 

 73; see Edward, Internat. Bull, of Bact. 

 Nomen. and Taxon., 5, 1955, 90.) 



fer. men 'tans. L. part. adj. fermentans 

 fermenting. 



Relatively stable mycelioid structure 

 with filaments varying from 10 to 30 microns 

 in length (Freundt, op. cit., 1954, 143). 

 Gram-negative. 



Horse-serum agar: A film and spots are 

 produced. 



Horse-blood agar : No hemolysis. 



Rabbit-serum agar : Good growth. 



Semi -solid media: Smooth growth, pref- 

 erably near the bottom. 



Broth: Generalized opacity. 



Acid from glucose, fructose, galactose, 

 maltose, glycogen, dextrin and starch; no 

 acid from mannose, xylose, sucrose, lactose, 

 salicin, glycerol or mannitol. 



Growth is usually improved by the addi- 

 tion of thymonucleic acid and by aerobic 

 conditions at pH 6.0 to 6.6 and by anaerobic 

 conditions at pH 7.0 to 8.0. 



Reduction of methylene blue is rather 

 rapid. 



Anaerobic or microaerophilic; usually 

 very poor growth under aerobic conditions. 



Serologically distinct from Mycoplasma 

 hominis Edward and M. salivarium Ed- 

 ward. 



Pathogenicity: May or may not be patho- 

 genic for mice; abscesses are sometimes pro- 

 duced when inoculations of early subcul- 

 tures are made in the foot pad of mice. 



Completely resistant to sulfathiazol, peni- 

 cillin and erythromj^cin. Moderate sensi- 

 tivity is shown to streptomycin, and the 

 susceptibility to dihydrostreptomycin is 

 variable. Highly sensitive to aureomycin, 

 chloramphenicol and terramycin. 



Source: Isolated from human male and 

 female genital tract. 



Habitat: Found not only in ulcerative 

 genital lesions associated with fusiform 

 bacilli and spirilla but also on the ap- 

 parently normal genital mucosa. 



