Laboratory Maintenance of Mycobacterium smegmatis

Abstract This unit gives background information on Mycobacterium smegmatis , a mycobacterial model system, and covers all the laboratory maintenance for this species including growth in liquid and on solid medium. It also contains recommendations concerning long‐term strain storage. Although M. smegmatis is a Biosafety Level 1 organism, some rare infections in humans have been reported, and, thus all of the required safety measures are discussed here. Curr. Protoc. Microbiol . 14:10C.1.1‐10C.1.12. © 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.