''Mycobacterium intermedium'' is a species of the phylum

Actinomycetota The ''Actinomycetota'' (or ''Actinobacteria'') are a phylum of all gram-positive bacteria. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They are of great economic importance to humans because agriculture and forests depend on their contributions to s ...

(

Gram-positive In bacteriology, gram-positive bacteria are bacteria that give a positive result in the Gram stain test, which is traditionally used to quickly classify bacteria into two broad categories according to their type of cell wall. Gram-positive bact ...

bacteria 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 am ...

with high guanine and cytosine content, one of the dominant phyla of all bacteria), belonging to the genus ''

Mycobacterium ''Mycobacterium'' is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis ('' M. tuberculosis'') ...

''.

Etymology Etymology () The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is the study of the history of the form of words ...

: Latin; intermedium, meaning between, rapidly and slowly growing

mycobacteria ''Mycobacterium'' is a genus of over 190 species in the phylum Actinomycetota, assigned its own family, Mycobacteriaceae. This genus includes pathogens known to cause serious diseases in mammals, including tuberculosis ('' M. tuberculosis'') and ...

Description

, and nonmotile

acid-fast Acid-fastness is a physical property of certain bacterial and eukaryotic cells, as well as some sub-cellular structures, specifically their resistance to decolorization by acids during laboratory staining procedures. Once stained as part of a sam ...

coccobacilli A coccobacillus (plural coccobacilli), or bacilluscocco, is a type of bacterium with a shape intermediate between cocci (spherical bacteria) and bacilli (rod-shaped bacteria). Coccobacilli, then, are very short rods which may be mistaken for cocci ...

(2.0 µm x 2.6 µm). Colony characteristics * Eugonic, smooth and photochromogenic colonies (3–5mm in diameter) on Löwenstein-Jensen medium. Physiology *Growth on Löwenstein-Jensen medium at 22 °C, 31 °C, 37 °C and 41 °C, (optimal temperature between 31 °C and 37 °C), within 2–3 weeks. *Susceptible to

ethambutol Ethambutol (EMB, E) is a medication primarily used to treat tuberculosis. It is usually given in combination with other tuberculosis medications, such as isoniazid, rifampicin and pyrazinamide. It may also be used to treat ''Mycobacterium avi ...

and

rifampin Rifampicin, also known as rifampin, is an ansamycin antibiotic used to treat several types of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis (TB), ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, leprosy, and Legionnaires’ disease. It is almost always used tog ...

. *Resistant to

isoniazid Isoniazid, also known as isonicotinic acid hydrazide (INH), is an antibiotic used for the treatment of tuberculosis. For active tuberculosis it is often used together with rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and either streptomycin or ethambutol. For la ...

and

streptomycin Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, ''Burkholderia'' infection, plague, tularemia, and rat bite fever. F ...

. Differential characteristics *Phylogenetic position between rapidly and slowly growing mycobacteria. *''M. asiaticum'' is phenotypically very similar, but can be distinguished by its growth at 22 °C, and by its dysgonic growth.

Pathogenesis

*Pulmonary disease * Biosafety level 2

Type strain

*Repeatedly isolated from sputum from a patient with pulmonary disease. Strain 1669/91 = ATCC 51848 = CCUG 37583 = CIP 104542 = DSM 44049 = JCM 13572

References

*Meier et al. 1993. Mycobacterium intermedium sp. nov. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1993, 43, 204–209.

External links

Type strain of ''Mycobacterium intermedium'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Acid-fast bacilli intermedium Bacteria described in 1993 {{Mycobacterium-stub