title: Mycoplasma ovis in captive cervids: prevalence, molecular characterization and phylogeny.
abstract: Hemotrophic mycoplasmas (hemoplasmas) are bacteria that attach to red blood cells of mammals, leading to acute and/or subclinical disease in infected animals. It has been suggested that Mycoplasma ovis, a hemoplasma that infects sheep and goats worldwide, may also infect deer. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether South American deer are infected with M. ovis. EDTA-anticoagulated blood samples from a herd of 32 captive South American deer were collected. DNA extraction of blood samples was performed followed by PCR amplification of the 16S and 23S rRNA genes, and sequencing of products. Using M. ovis PCR, 27/31 (87%) were positive, including 21/22 Mazama nana; 2/3 Mazama americana and 4/6 Blastocerus dichotomus. Sequencing of the nearly entire 16S rRNA gene of 26/27 positive samples showed 98.2-98.8% identity to M. ovis of sheep (GenBank, AF338268) and 98.6-99.4% identity to M. ovis-like of a fawn (FJ824847); the 23S rRNA gene from one of these isolates and the fawn's had 97.6% identity. The remaining isolate had just 94.9% identity to the 16S rRNA gene of M. ovis and only 89.4% identity to the 23S rRNA gene of the fawn's M. ovis. This is the first report of M. ovis in captive South American deer, revealing a high prevalence of hemoplasma infection in these animals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Rua dos Funcionários, 1450, Curitiba, PR 80035-050, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Laura
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Grazziotin
authors.forename: Andrea Pires
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Ana Marcia Sa
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Guimaraes
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mohamed
authors.forename: Zalmir Silvino
authors.initials: ZS
authors.lastname: Cubas
authors.forename: Marcos Jose
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.forename: Leonilda Correia
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Wanderlei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: de Moraes
authors.forename: Rafael Felipe da Costa
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.forename: Lucelia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Donatti
authors.forename: Ivan Roque
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: de Barros Filho
authors.forename: Alexander Welker
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Biondo
authors.forename: Joanne Belle
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Messick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D003670:Deer; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D021521:Ribotyping