Habitat and Morphology of Mycobacterium leprae

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Habitat of Mycobacterium leprae

  1. They are found in soil, water and air.
  2. Found in the soils where the leprosy infected people live.
  3. Most of them are non-pathogenic and non-parasitic.
  4. Found in warm tropical countries.
  5. Mycobacterium leprae are found in the peripheral nerves of humans.
  6. Found in the cold parts of the body like hand, feet and nose.
  7. They are aerobic intracellular organisms.
  8. They are also found in the Armadillos.
  9. They grow on temperature 30 to 33°C and pH 5.1 to 5.6.
  10. They can survive in humid environment for 9-16 days, 46 days in moist soil, 2 hours in sunlight and for about 30 minutes in UV light.
  11. Its generation time is from ten to thirty days (Average: 14 days).
  12. It was first detected in 1873 by a Norwegian physician named Gerhard Hansen.
Armadillo
Armadillo, the only other organism besides human capable of contracting the disease.

Morphology of Mycobacterium leprae

  1. They are acid fast organism and also can be considered as gram +ve bacteria.
  2. Its cells contain peptidoglycan and stain gram-positive, but most of its cell wall is comprised of unique types of lipids.
  3. Due to thick waxy coating, they stains with carbol fuchsin.
  4. They are also known as “Hansen’s Bacillus Spirilly”.
  5. They have “Packets of Cigarettes” appearance.
  6. They have parallel sides with rounded ends.
  7. They are 1-8 µm in length and 0.2-0.5 µm in diameter.
  8. They are non-sporing, non-capsulated and non-motile bacteria.
  9. They divided by binary fission.
  10. They appears in group of bacilli side by side.
  11. They are slender, slightly curved or straight rods.
  12. They appears in clumps and rounded masses.

Morphology of Mycobacterium leprae

Genomes of Mycobacterium leprae

  1. They are 3,268,203 base pairs.
  2. 2770 genes.
  3. GC Content: 57.8%.
  4. Codes for 1605 proteins
  5. Contains 1115 pseudogenes.
  6. Genomes was sequenced in 10/02/2001 by Sanger Institute.

Habitat and Morphology of Mycobacterium leprae

About Author

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Sagar Aryal, PhD

Dr. Sagar Aryal is a microbiologist, researcher, and science communicator from Nepal. He is also co-founder and Research Head of the Department of Natural Products at the Kathmandu Research Institute for Biological Sciences (KRIBS), where he leads research on natural product discovery and microbial biodiversity. Dr. Aryal earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2025, supported by a DAAD Research Grant and a University Grants Commission (UGC) Nepal Ph.D. Fellowship. His research interests include Actinomycetes, Myxobacteria, microbial taxonomy, and natural products, particularly the discovery of bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications. He isolated and identified Nocardia nepalensis, a novel bacterial species from Nepal, contributing to understanding microbial diversity in the region. Dr. Aryal has published more than 16 research articles in international journals and contributed three book chapters to established academic publications. He has presented scientific research findings and developed international research collaborations through visits to more than 18 countries across Asia, Europe, North America, and Oceania. From 2023 to 2025, he served as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Young Ambassador to Nepal. Since December 2025, he has served as an Editorial Board Member of Scientific Reports, a Nature Portfolio journal. In recognition of his scientific contributions, Dr. Aryal received the NAST Science and Technology Youth Award 2025 from the Nepal Academy of Science and Technology. He previously received the Frs. Locke and Stiller Research Award (LSRA) for the 2017-2018 cycle from St. Xavier's College, Kathmandu, and a Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) Research Grant for 2017-2018. Alongside his scientific career, Dr. Aryal has more than 15 years of experience in blogging, content writing, and search engine optimization (SEO).

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