Genomic and antigenic differences between the European and African/Australian clusters of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC.
Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides small-colony type (SC), the aetiological agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), can be grouped into two major, epidemiologically distinct, clusters. One cluster contains strains isolated from different European countries since 1980 and a second cluster contains African and Australian strains collected over the last 50 years. Genetic analysis of representative strains from the two clusters revealed a genomic segment of 8.84 kb, located close to a copy of IS1296, which is present in all strains of the African cluster but lacking in all strains of the European cluster. This segment contains a copy of IS1634, a gene for a potential lipoprotein, IppB, open reading frames encoding a putative surface-located membrane protein and a hypothetical proline-rich membrane protein, and two open reading frames showing similarity to putative ABC transporters. The product of the IppB gene, lipoprotein B (LppB), has an apparent molecular mass of 70 kDa and was shown to be surface located. It is detected with monospecific antibodies in all strains of the African cluster tested, but not in European-cluster strains. DNA sequence analysis of the splicing site at which European strains differ from African-cluster strains by the lack of the 8.84 kb segment showed that the European cluster has arisen by deletion from a strain of the African cluster. Hence, M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC strains isolated in different European countries from the newly reemerging outbreaks of CBPP, which occurred after the eradication of the epizootic in Europe in the middle of the 20th century, represent a phylogenetically newer cluster that has been derived from a strain of the older cluster of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides SC which is still endemic on the African continent.
Vilei
Edy M
EM
Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Berne, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland1.
Abdo
El-Mostafa
EM
Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Berne, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland1.
Nicolet
Jacques
J
Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Berne, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland1.
Botelho
Ana
A
Laboratório Nacional de Investigação Veterinária, Estrada de Benfica 701, 1500 Lisbon, Portugal2.
Gonçalves
Rosário
R
Laboratório Nacional de Investigação Veterinária, Estrada de Benfica 701, 1500 Lisbon, Portugal2.
Frey
Joachim
J
Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Berne, Länggass-Strasse 122, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland1.
D000349:Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D015247:Deoxyribonuclease HindIII / Q000378:metabolism; D005060:Europe / Q000453:epidemiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000382:microbiology; D006041:Goats; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008074:Lipoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009176:Mycoplasma mycoides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D011002:Pleuropneumonia, Contagious / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D008074:Lipoproteins; D015247:Deoxyribonuclease HindIII