Bacteria Genomes - UREAPLASMA PARVUM

Ureaplasma parvum is a mycoplasma and a pathogenic ureolytic mollicute which colonises the urogenital tracts of humans. It is an an opportunistic pathogen that is a significant cause of adverse pregnancy outcome, neonatal disease, and supperative arthritis. During delivery it can also spread to the central nervous system and lower respiratory tract of newborn infants resulting in infant pneumonia, meningitis, and septicemia.

U. parvum and other mycoplasma have lost the cell wall of their ancestors, and in fact, are the smallest free-living organisms known. Although Mycoplasma genitalium boasts a smaller genome than the 750,000 base pairs of U. parvum, the latter may rely upon a more minimal set of essential genes to function. The bacterium uniquely lacks several proteins standard in comparable organisms and its low biosynthetic capacity means that it must import more nutrients needed for growth that most other bacteria.

Only some of the 14 known serotypes (serovars) of U. parvum are involved in disease.

References:

Nature 407:757-762(2000)
http://genome.microbio.uab.edu/uu/MG2-98/abstract.htm
http://www.nature.com/genomics/papers/u_urealyticum.html
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/integr8/QuickSearch.do?action=doOrgSearch&organismName=Ureaplasma+urealyticum