Proposal for an Amended Classification of Anaerobic Mollicutes

The taxonomic status of the obligately anaerobic mycoplasmas has remained controversial since their discovery in 1973. For this reason, Anaeroplasma, the single recognized genus, has not been assigned to a higher taxon in the class Mollicutes. Nutritional, biochemical, serological, and genomic data indicate that the anaerobic mollicutes compose a heterogeneous assemblage of organisms, all of which are distinct from facultatively anaerobic mollicutes. A revised and extended classification of these organisms is proposed.