Question

Identify the obligate intracellular microorganism?

• A. Mycoplasma
• B. Chlamydia
• C. Escherichia coli
• D. Bacillus subtilis

Hint:

Examples of obligate intracellular microorganisms include \[ \boxed{ \textit{Chlamydia},\; \textit{Rickettsia} } \] whereas \[ \boxed{ \text{Viruses} } \] are obligate intracellular acellular entities.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Recall the characteristics of the given microorganisms. \[ \begin{aligned} \textit{Mycoplasma} &\rightarrow \text{Free-living bacterium without a cell wall}, \textit{Escherichia\ coli} &\rightarrow \text{Free-living bacterium}, \textit{Bacillus\ subtilis} &\rightarrow \text{Free-living bacterium}, \textit{Chlamydia} &\rightarrow \text{Obligate intracellular bacterium}. \end{aligned} \]

Step 2: Identify the obligate intracellular organism. Chlamydia can grow and reproduce only inside living host cells. Hence, \[ \boxed{\textit{Chlamydia}} \] is the correct answer. Therefore, \[ \boxed{(B)} \] is the correct answer.