The key difference between Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium is that Mycoplasma hominis is a pathogenic bacterial species that causes pyelonephritis, cervicitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, while Mycoplasma genitalium is a pathogenic bacterial species that causes urethritis, conjunctivitis, endometritis, and cervicitis.
Mycoplasma is a genus of bacteria that lacks a cell wall around its cell membrane. Peptidoglycan or murein is also absent in their cover. Therefore, the bacterial species in this genus are naturally resistant to antibiotics like beta-lactam antibiotics (penicillin), which target cell wall synthesis. These bacterial species in Mycoplasma genus can be parasitic or saprotrophic in nature. Moreover, several species, such as Mycoplasma pneumonia, Mycoplasma hominis, and Mycoplasma genitalium, are pathogenic in humans. Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium are two such pathogenic bacterial species of the genus Mycoplasma.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Mycoplasma hominis
3. What is Mycoplasma genitalium
4. Similarities – Mycoplasma Hominis and Genitalium
5. Mycoplasma Hominis vs Genitalium in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Mycoplasma Hominis vs Genitalium
What is Mycoplasma hominis?
Mycoplasma hominis is a pathogenic species of the bacterial genus Mycoplasma. Mycoplasma species are the smallest free-living bacterial organism known in the world. M. hominis has the ability to penetrate the interior of human cells. As Mycoplasma hominis does not have a cell wall, it does not respond to Gram staining. M. hominis is mainly associated with pelvic inflammatory disease and bacterial vaginosis. It also causes male infertility. It also causes pyelonephritis, cervicitis, bacteremia, pneumonia, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Moreover, sometimes, it is a pathogen that latently infects the chorionic villi tissues, which consequently affects pregnancy.
Figure 01: Mycoplasma hominis
This bacterial species can be diagnosed through the characteristic fried egg colony appearance on glucose agar medium within 24 to 48 hours. The infection of M. hominis can be treated through antibiotics such as clindamycin and fluoroquinolones. Furthermore, safe sex practices can prevent infection of M. hominis. In addition to that, M. hominis uses an atypical type of energy metabolism, dependent on the degradation of arginine that is not seen in other mycoplasmas. The genome size of M. hominis is 0.715 Mbp with 620 genes.
What is Mycoplasma genitalium?
Mycoplasma genitalium is a species of bacterial genus Mycoplasma. It is a pathogenic bacterium, and it causes urethritis, cervicitis, endometritis, and conjunctivitis. M. genitalium is sexually transmitted. It lives on the mucous epithelial cells of the urinary and genital tracts in humans. M. genitalium was first isolated in the urogenital tract of humans in 1981. It can cause negative effects in both men and women. Moreover, M. genitalium also increases the risk of HIV spread. The complete genome sequence of M. genitalium was discovered in 1995. The genome of this bacterial species is 0.58 Mbp with 475 genes.
Figure 02: M. genitalium
M.genitalium infections can be diagnosed by detecting DNA through nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT). According to the U.S Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, M. genitalium infection can be treated through doxycycline for 7 days, followed by 7 days course of moxifloxacin.
What are the Similarities Between Mycoplasma Hominis and Genitalium?
- Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium are two pathogenic bacterial species of the genus Mycoplasma.
- Both are very small bacterial species.
- Both bacterial species are found in men and women equally.
- These bacterial species are sexually transmitted.
- Their infections can be controlled by specific antibiotics.
What is the Difference Between Mycoplasma Hominis and Genitalium?
Mycoplasma hominis causes pyelonephritis, cervicitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, while Mycoplasma genitalium causes urethritis, cervicitis, endometritis, and conjunctivitis. Thus, this is the key difference between Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium. Furthermore, Mycoplasma hominis genome size is 0.715 Mbp with 620 genes, while Mycoplasma genitalium genome size is 0.58 Mbp with 475 genes.
The below infographic presents the differences between Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Mycoplasma Hominis vs Genitalium
Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium are two pathogenic bacterial species of the genus Mycoplasma. Both these bacterial species are sexually transmitted and can be identified in the urogenital tract of humans. M. hominis causes pyelonephritis, cervicitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, while M. genitalium causes urethritis, cervicitis, endometritis, and conjunctivitis. So, this is the summary of the difference between Mycoplasma hominis and genitalium.
Reference:
1.“Mycoplasma Hominis.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
2. “Mycoplasma Genitalium – STI Treatment Guidelines.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Image Courtesy:
1. “pone.0003056.g002.png” By PLOS ONE PHYLOGENY (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Mycoplasma tmRNA stem D1 length mapped on rRNA phylogenetic tree.” By PLOS ONE PHYLOGENY (CC BY 2.0) via Flickr