ABSTRACT
Mobiluncus is a non-spore-forming, anaerobic, curved rod-shaped bacterium that has been isolated most frequently from the lower genital tract of women. The organism was first isolated and described by Curtis in 1913, and first classified, albeit erroneously, by Prevot in 1940. Prevot named the organism Vibrio mulieris and located it taxonomically within the group of anaerobic vibrios. In 1984, Spiegel and Roberts reclassified the organism since this organism was not found to fit into the vibrio group nor did its description fit that of any other existing genus. Vibrios have Gram-negative type cell walls, produce cytochrome oxidase, and are motile by polar flagella. Curved anaerobic rods possessed none of these traits and DNA homology between Mobiluncus and other existing genera was less than 1%. Accordingly, they created a new genus, Mobiluncus in the family Bacteroidaceae. They established two species, M. mulieris and M. curtisii, and divided M. curtisii into two subspecies, M. curtisii subspecies curtisii and M. curtisii subspecies holmesii.
