title: Assessment of PCR for routine identification of species of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster in ruminants.
abstract: DNA amplification techniques offer considerable promise for the identification of Mycoplasma mycoides cluster members. They avoid antigenic cross-reactivity and variability that hamper serological methods. Many sets of primers, specific of these different members and of Mycoplasma putrefaciens, have been proposed. To assess the reliability of some of these PCR tests in routine laboratory diagnostic use, 230 field strains supposed to belong to this group were simultaneously identified by PCR and an antigenic method. The results were well correlated to antigenic identification for M. putrefaciens, but PCR failed to identify respectively 74% and 52% of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Large Colony type and M. capricolum subsp. capricolum strains. Any identification of M. mycoides subsp. mycoides Small Colony type must be confirmed by two different tests. Difficulties in defining the M. species bovine serogroup 7 were also encountered with both the PCR and immunological methods. The occurrence of putative variable antigen(s) on the mycoplasma surface may explain part of the identification difficulties encountered with the immunological methods.
authors.affiliation: UMR Mycoplasmoses des Ruminants, Pathologie du Bétail, Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire de Lyon, 1 avenue Bourgelat, 69280 Marcy-l'Etoile, France.
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Le Grand
authors.forename: Estelle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Saras
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blond
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Solsona
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poumarat
mesh_terms: D000127:Acholeplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009176:Mycoplasma mycoides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary*; D015183:Restriction Mapping / Q000662:veterinary; D012418:Ruminants / Q000382:microbiology*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014509:Ureaplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial; D017931:DNA Primers; D004269:DNA, Bacterial