Mycoplasma agassizii

Mycoplasma agassizii is a species of bacteria in the genus Mycoplasma. This genus of bacteria lacks a cell wall around their cell membrane. Without a cell wall, they are unaffected by many common antibiotics such as penicillin or other beta-lactam antibiotics that target cell wall synthesis. Mycoplasma are the smallest bacterial cells yet discovered, can survive without oxygen and are typically about 0.1 µm in diameter. Cultures are available from the Mollicutes Culture Collection (Curators Dr. J.K. Davis and M.K. Davidson, University of Florida). This mycoplasma species was originally isolated from a species of desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii which was named for by Louis Agassiz.