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Abstract:
In this paper recent advances in knowledge of the following aspects of Mycobacterium leprae will be reviewed: animal sources, ultrastructure, lipid composition, wall structure, molecular biology, metabolic capabilities and measurement of viability. It will be proposed that isolated from infected tissues are consistent, that is they share chemical and biochemical features although originating from many parts of the world, are unique, that is they have properties possessed by no other microorganism, and are biologically credible, meaning that their behaviour and properties are consistent with and sufficient for their postulated role as an intracellular pathogen. It is now clear that host-grown M. leprae is phenotypically quite distinct from organisms so far cultivated in vitro from infected tissues. The technique of DNA hybridization provides a method, unaffected by phenotypic changes brought about by transfer from a host to a medium, to compare host-grown M. leprae with cultivable microorganisms supposed to be genotypically identical.