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mycobacteria

American  
[mahy-koh-bak-teer-ee-uh] / ˌmaɪ koʊ bækˈtɪər i ə /

plural noun

Bacteriology.
mycobacterium singular
  1. rod-shaped aerobic bacteria of the genus Mycobacterium, certain species of which, as M. tuberculosis, are pathogenic for humans and animals.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of mycobacteria

First recorded in 1905–10; from New Latin, a genus name; see origin at myco-, bacteria

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Ozeki et al., expressed MDP1 in two different hosts: M. smegmatis, a non-pathogenic, fast-growing mycobacteria, and E. coli.

From Science Daily Jun. 19, 2024

Nontuberculous mycobacteria, which can cause lung infections, appear to be relatively common in shower heads, for instance.

From New York Times Oct. 27, 2018

For example, Casanova and others have found more than a dozen mutations that disrupt the body's ability to battle non-TB mycobacteria, and all of them mess with interferon gamma—a key immune system activator.

From Scientific American Jul. 1, 2018

The mycobacteria that cause leprosy are slow growing, and have an affinity for peripheral nerves and cooler parts of the body.

From Forbes Mar. 6, 2015

This compound, a nitroimidazole, poisons mycobacteria by releasing nitric oxide once it is metabolized.

From Nature Oct. 9, 2013

Caused by bacteria mycobacterium tuberculosis, tuberculosis disease is spread through the air.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 25, 2024

He and his colleagues were building a library of the proteins that make up the mycobacterium that causes TB.

From Salon Oct. 5, 2023

Mrs Martinez, of Borehamwood in Hertfordshire, received a lung transplant at the hospital in July 2019 and shortly afterwards contracted mycobacterium abscessus.

From BBC Nov. 22, 2022

He squints into microscopes looking for the rod-shaped mycobacterium leprae cells that drive this disease.

From New York Times Jan. 25, 2022

Several studies even have shown that surgical masks fail to prevent transmission of the much larger mycobacterium tuberculosis, which causes TB.

From Slate Jan. 27, 2020

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