biology

Mycobacterium marinum

Mycobacterium marinum is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mycobacterium marinum rather than just read about it. In short: Mycobacterium marinum is a slow growing fresh and saltwater mycobacterium (SGM) belonging to the genus Mycobacterium and the phylum Actinobacteria. It was formerly known as Mycobacterium balnei.

Key takeaways

Mycobacterium marinum belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mycobacterium marinum to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mycobacterium marinum from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Mycobacterium marinum is a slow growing fresh and saltwater mycobacterium (SGM) belonging to the genus Mycobacterium and the phylum Actinobacteria. It was formerly known as Mycobacterium balnei. The strain marinum was first identified by Joseph D. Aronson in 1926 and it is observed as a pathogenic mycobacterium causing tuberculosis-like infections in fish (mycobacteriosis) and skin lesions in humans. The bacteria grows optimally at a temperature around 30 °C.

Human infection See aquarium granuloma Mycobacterium marinum is an acid-fast, aerobic bacterium which can infect humans. Infection is usually associated either with swimming, preparing sea food, or with keeping or working with aquarium fish. Infections of humans are rare due to the chlorination of water. The bacteria penetrate the skin through trauma, usually from bites, injuries from fins, and penetration from foreign objects. The infection is not transmittable from person to person. The bacteria invade macrophages, preventing the fusion of phagosome-lysosome and replicating inside. A rare case of human infection was detected when a three year old American child was bitten by an iguana in Costa Rica in March 2022. It is the first bite related infection as most infections develop when an open wound comes into contact with contaminated water. The case was part of the programme of a scientific congress in Copenhagen in April 2023.

Phylogeny Initial phylogenetic studies using the gene 16S rDNA sequence data shows M. marinum is close to M. tuberculosis and M. ulcerans. Whole genome sequence of M. marinum (M strain) was first published in 2008 and later with the emergence of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), marinum type strain or patient isolates genome sequences were published.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mycobacterium marinum

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mycobacterium marinum claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mycobacterium marinum before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mycobacterium marinum ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mycobacterium marinum

In research: Mycobacterium marinum appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mycobacterium marinum in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mycobacterium marinum is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bacteria described in 1926, Fish diseases, Nontuberculous mycobacteria, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mycobacterium marinum outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Mycobacterium marinum” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Mycobacterium marinum in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mycobacterium marinum means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mycobacterium marinum out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mycobacterium marinum in simple terms?

Mycobacterium marinum is a slow growing fresh and saltwater mycobacterium (SGM) belonging to the genus Mycobacterium and the phylum Actinobacteria. It was formerly known as Mycobacterium balnei.

Why does Mycobacterium marinum matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mycobacterium marinum?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mycobacterium marinum.