Mycoplasma genitalium

Mycoplasma genitalium G-37

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Bacteria
Division:	Firmicutes
Class:	Mollicutes[?]
Family:	Mycoplasmataceae[?]
Genus:	Mycoplasma
Species:	M. genitalium
Strain[?]:	G-37

A parasitic bacterium which lives in the primate genital and respiratory tracts. It is of special interest for biologists because it is considered to be the organism (not counting viruses) with the smallest genome. The genome of Mycoplasma genitalium consists of 580 kbp (kilo base pairs). It was sequenced by Fraser et al. (Science 270:397-403 (1995)).