''Mycoplasma fermentans'' is a very small

bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

in the class

Mollicutes Mollicutes is a class of bacteria distinguished by the absence of a cell wall. The word "Mollicutes" is derived from the Latin ''mollis'' (meaning "soft" or "pliable"), and ''cutis'' (meaning "skin"). Individuals are very small, typically only 0. ...

. Like other mycoplasmas ''M. fermentans'' is characterized by the absence of a

peptidoglycan cell wall Peptidoglycan or murein is a unique large macromolecule, a polysaccharide, consisting of sugars and amino acids that forms a mesh-like peptidoglycan layer outside the plasma membrane, the rigid cell wall (murein sacculus) characteristic of most ...

and resulting resistance to many antibacterial agents. It is a possible human pathogen with roles suggested in many illness such as respiratory, genital, and rheumatoid diseases among others. Investigations have focused on a possible link to it being a cofactor in

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

infection as well as

fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia (FM) is a medical condition defined by the presence of chronic widespread pain, fatigue, waking unrefreshed, cognitive symptoms, lower abdominal pain or cramps, and depression. Other symptoms include insomnia and a general hyp ...

Gulf War syndrome Gulf War syndrome or Gulf War illness is a chronic and multi-symptomatic disorder affecting military veterans of both sides of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War. A wide range of acute and chronic symptoms have been linked to it, including fatigue ...

and

Chronic fatigue syndrome Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also called myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) or ME/CFS, is a complex, debilitating, long-term medical condition. The causes and mechanisms of the disease are not fully understood. Distinguishing core symptoms are ...

, however the belief that ''M. fermentans'' is pathogenic in such conditions has largely been disregarded after the failure of several large scale studies to find a link. Due to its incredibly small size it is difficult to determine the full extent of its role in human diseases, while ''M. fermentans'' has been implicated in a myriad of diseases, research at the current point has not conclusively proven its pathogenicity in humans outside of opportunistic infections.

Discovery

''Mycoplasma fermentans'' was first described by Ruiter and Wentholt in 1952 from isolate of a human genital infection, which led to the initial name G-strain. In 1954 D.G. Edward identified a strain of mycoplasma in his laboratory isolated from 91 different samples collected from humans that differed in its ability to ferment sugars, he labeled this strain human type 3 as it was the 3rd strain he found in the group of samples. This was later identified to be the same strain as Ruiter and Wentholt's G-strain. In 1955 Edward proposed a new naming structure renaming his human type 3 strain and Ruiter and Wentholt's G-strain to ''M. fermentans'' due to its believed unique ability amongst the group to ferment multiple sugars. It has since been found that several other mycoplasma are capable of fermenting multiple sugar sources.

''Mycoplasma incognitus''

In the late 1980s a mycoplasma infection was isolated during autopsy of

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

patients. This new mycoplasma, dubbed ''M. incognitus'' was concerning as it could either be an opportunistic co-infection or a sexually transmitted infectious cofactor to the HIV disease process. This "new" mycoplasma however was later determined to be a strain of ''M. fermentans'' . Since then however, several more mycoplasmas have been described as being co-infectious with HIV.

Characteristics

''Mycoplasma fermentans'' is capable of fermenting both

glucose Glucose is a simple sugar with the molecular formula . Glucose is overall the most abundant monosaccharide, a subcategory of carbohydrates. Glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water and carbon dioxide, using ...

and

arginine Arginine is the amino acid with the formula (H2N)(HN)CN(H)(CH2)3CH(NH2)CO2H. The molecule features a guanidino group appended to a standard amino acid framework. At physiological pH, the carboxylic acid is deprotonated (−CO2−) and both the am ...

as well as other sugars.

Discovery

''Mycoplasma incognitus''

Characteristics

References

Further reading