Phylogenetic analysis of the mycoplasmas.
Woese CR, Maniloff J, Zablen LB.
The phylogenetic relationships between the mycoplasmas and bacteria have been established from a comparative analysis of their 16S rRNA oligonucleotide catalogs. The genera Mycoplasma, Spiroplasma, and Acholeplasma arose by degenerative evolution, as a deep branch of the subline of clostridial ancestry that led to Bacillus and Lactobacillus. Thermoplasma has no specific relationship to the other mycoplasmas; it belongs with the archaebacteria.
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PMID: 6928642 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]PMCID: PMC348298