ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces scientists who have been trained in other disciplines to Mycoplasma and related organisms, and to provide an entry to the literature of practical mycoplasmology with emphasis on vaccinology and methods of genetic manipulation for microbiologists who specialize in other species. The species concept for Mycoplasma and related organisms is similar to the general species concept for other bacteria. For Mycoplasma and related organisms, experience suggests that a frontier of about 94% 16S rDNA sequence similarity indicates either a spectrum of related species from which an isolate would have to be distinguished by additional means. The general morphological and metabolic simplicity of mycoplasmas and related organisms is consistent with their limited genome size, and leads to few unique biochemical traits that can be exploited for rapid differentiation between species. Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species most commonly infect epithelial surfaces, and a small number of species can spread between distal tissues.
