From the Greek—myces (fungus) and baktērion (little rod)

The only genus of bacteria in the family Mycobacteriaceae. In 1882, German scientist Robert Koch reported the discovery of a bacillus from the lung tubercles that caused tuberculosis. Earlier, Norwegian researcher G.H.A. Hansen had identified a similar microbe which caused leprosy. In 1896, the genus name Mycobacterium, from the Middle Latin noun meaning fungus rodlet, was proposed to include these new pathogens, M. tuberculosis and M. leprae. The name does not mean that mycobacteria are fungi; rather, the tubercle bacilli grow on the surface of liquid media as moldlike pellicles when cultured. The nomotile, acid-fast, aerobic organisms in this genus cause numerous human and animal diseases.

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