What are Mollicutes, and what is the best-known genus?
Q: What are Mollicutes, and what is the best-known genus?
A: Mollicutes are a class of bacteria with no bacterial cell wall, and Mycoplasma is the best-known genus.
Q: How big are Mollicutes?
A: Mollicutes are very small, only about 0.2–0.3 μm in size.
Q: How do Mollicutes move around, and what is the exception to this?
A: Most Mollicutes move about by gliding across host cells, but Spiroplasma are helical and move by twisting.
Q: What do Mollicutes parasitize, and what are their hosts?
A: Mollicutes are parasites of various animals and plants, living on or in the host's cells. Their hosts range from humans to insect vectors.
Q: What diseases do Mollicutes cause in humans?
A: Many Mollicutes cause diseases in humans, such as Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma that stick to cells in the lungs or sex tubes like the urethra.
Q: What are Phytoplasma and Spiroplasma, and what are their vectors?
A: Phytoplasma and Spiroplasma are plant pathogens with insect vectors. Bugs such as leaf-hoppers (Homoptera) are the vectors.
Q: How do insect vectors deliver Mollicutes to plants?
A: Insect vectors deliver Mollicutes to plants when they stick their mouth-parts into a plant to suck its sap.
