title: Vertical transmission of Mycoplasma wenyonii in cattle, supported by analysis of the ribonuclease P RNA gene - Short communication.
abstract: The vertical transmission of Mycoplasma (M.) wenyonii was investigated in beef cattle raised on a farm in Japan by analysing the ribonuclease P RNA (rnpB) gene sequence using PCR. Peripheral blood samples from 17 dams infected with M. wenyonii and from their neonatal calves were collected and colostrum samples were taken from cows immediately after parturition, and subsequently the blood samples of calves were monitored continuously for three months. At birth on day 0, although no rnpB gene was detected in the colostrum of any of the dams, four (23.5%) of the 17 calves born were positive. At three months after delivery, the number of positive calves decreased to three. Although horizontal transmission by blood-feeding arthropod vectors has been basically accepted as the most common route of haemoplasma infection, these findings suggest that vertical transmission is, at least in part, another most likely route of M. wenyonii infection in cattle.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Fumina
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sasaoka
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.affiliation: Field Science Center, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University , Shizukuishi, Iwate , Japan.
authors.forename: Toh-Ichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirata
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichijo
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhisa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Furuhama
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Ryô
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Harasawa
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Department of Veterinary Medicine, Iwate University , 3-18-8 Ueda, Morioka, Iwate 020-8550 , Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Satoh
keywords: Cattle; Mycoplasma wenyonii; haemoplasma; ribonuclease P RNA