Final answer:
Prions, the agents causing transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, do not follow general inactivation and decontamination rules due to their resistance to heat, chemicals, and radiation, and lack of a genome.
Step-by-step explanation:
The microbial agent that does not respond to the general rules regarding microbial inactivation and decontamination is transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents (prions). Prions are particularly resistant to most forms of decontamination, including heat, chemicals, and radiation. Unlike bacteria, viruses, and fungi, prions do not contain nucleic acids and thus do not have a genome. Therefore, even standard sterilization procedures are not guaranteed to destroy these infectious agents. This resistance makes them exceptionally difficult to manage in both clinical and laboratory settings.
Biological agents like Mycobacterium tuberculosis, agents of bioterrorism such as smallpox and Bacillus anthracis, and Coccidioides immitis are certainly resilient to certain decontamination efforts, but they do not exhibit the extreme resistance characteristics of prions.