<Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> <P> Tubercle bacillus Koch 1882 </P> </Td> </Tr> <P> Tubercle bacillus Koch 1882 </P> <P> Mycobacterium tuberculosis is an obligate pathogenic bacterial species in the family Mycobacteriaceae and the causative agent of tuberculosis . First discovered in 1882 by Robert Koch, M. tuberculosis has an unusual, waxy coating on its cell surface primarily due to the presence of mycolic acid . This coating makes the cells impervious to Gram staining, and as a result, M. tuberculosis can appear either Gram - negative or Gram - positive . Acid - fast stains such as Ziehl - Neelsen, or fluorescent stains such as auramine are used instead to identify M. tuberculosis with a microscope . The physiology of M. tuberculosis is highly aerobic and requires high levels of oxygen . Primarily a pathogen of the mammalian respiratory system, it infects the lungs . The most frequently used diagnostic methods for tuberculosis are the tuberculin skin test, acid - fast stain, culture, and polymerase chain reaction . </P> <P> The M. tuberculosis genome was sequenced in 1998 . </P>

Where is mycobacterium tuberculosis found in the body