Genome
M pneumoniae is the smallest free-living organism capable of self-replication, smaller than some viruses. It also has one of the smallest bacterial genomes known, with 816 kilobase pairs (kbs). Its genome and proteome have been fully characterized. It uses some unique genetic code, making its code more similar to mitochondria than to other bacteria. Thus it is said that Mycoplasma pneumoniae has a degenerate genome. It lacks the cellular machinery for making many essential compounds, including new purines and pyrimidines. It also has no tri-carboxylic acid cycle and an incomplete electron transport chain.
Read more about this topic: Mycoplasma Pneumoniae