title: COMPARISON OF CURRENT METHODS FOR THE DETECTION OF CHRONIC MYCOPLASMAL URTD IN WILD POPULATIONS OF THE MOJAVE DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII).
abstract: Pathogens that cause subclinical diseases or exhibit low infection intensities are difficult to quantify in wild populations. Mojave desert tortoises ( Gopherus agassizii ) have been the focus of much research aimed at measuring the presence of upper respiratory disease (URTD) and URTD-associated pathogens, and techniques used to quantify disease in Gopherus species have also been used for disease surveillance in other species of turtles and tortoises of conservation concern. Published surveys of G. agassizii populations have found a relatively low prevalence of URTD, with most URTD-positive animals exhibiting moderate, intermittent signs of morbidity. Therefore, multiple tests have been developed to quantify URTD including genetic detection of the pathogens Mycoplasma agassizii and Mycoplasma testudineum , detection of M. agassizii -specific antibodies, and standardized quantification of clinical signs of URTD and body condition. These diagnostic tests have only been compared in diseased or moribund, semicaptive animals. We compared diagnostic techniques (TaqMan® and SYBR™ Green qPCR, serology, and visible examination) to detect M. agassizii -associated URTD in 126 wild desert tortoises sampled in Nevada and California, US in 2010. All had healthy body condition indices and none exhibited more than mild-to-moderate visual signs of URTD. Pairwise comparisons of diagnostic techniques indicated poor performance in diagnosing disease in individual animals. We found stronger, but inconsistent, statistical associations among diagnostic techniques at the population level. Our findings have implications for quantifying subclinical respiratory disease in tortoises.
authors: 1   Department of Biology, Department of Biology, Colorado State University - Pueblo, 2200 Bonforte Blvd., Pueblo, Colorado 81001, USA.|2   Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: Franziska C
authors: FC
authors: Sandmeier
authors: 2   Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: Chava L
authors: CL
authors: Weitzman
authors: 3   Vanderbilt University, 2201 W End Ave., Nashville, Tennessee 37235, USA.
authors: K Nichole
authors: KN
authors: Maloney
authors: 2   Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: C Richard
authors: CR
authors: Tracy
authors: 4   Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, 617 S Beaver St., Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA.
authors: Nathan
authors: N
authors: Nieto
authors: 2   Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: Mike B
authors: MB
authors: Teglas
authors: 5   Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: Kenneth W
authors: KW
authors: Hunter
authors: 5   Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Nevada, 1664 N Virginia St., Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors: Sally
authors: S
authors: DuPré
authors: 6   Department of Biology and Center of Excellence for Field Biology, Austin Peay State University, 601 College St., Clarksville, Tennessee 37044, USA.
authors: C M
authors: CM
authors: Gienger
authors: 7   Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3551 Trousdale Pkwy., Los Angeles, California 90089, USA.
authors: Michael W
authors: MW
authors: Tuma
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D002140:California; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000662:veterinary*; D009505:Nevada; D014426:Turtles / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
keywords: Chelonian; SYBR Green; TaqMan; quantitative PCR; reptile; serology; subclinical disease