-
FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology Dec 1998Mycoplasma fermentans and other Mycoplasma species are colonizers of human mucosal surfaces and may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection. While many...
Mycoplasma fermentans and other Mycoplasma species are colonizers of human mucosal surfaces and may be associated with human immunodeficiency virus infection. While many infectious agents have been described in different percentages of patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), little is known about the prevalence of mycoplasmas and especially M. fermentans in CFS patients. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based assay was used to detect Mycoplasma genus and M. fermentans genomes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of CFS patients. Blood was collected from 100 patients with CFS and 50 control subjects. The amplified products of 717 bp of Mycoplasma genus, and 206 bp of M. fermentans were detected in DNA purified from blood samples in 52% and 34% of CFS samples, respectively. In contrast, these genomes were found in only 14% and 8% of healthy control subjects respectively (P < 0.0001). All samples were confirmed by Southern blot with a specific probe based on internal sequences of the expected amplification product. Several samples, which were positive for Mycoplasma genus, were negative for M. fermentans indicating that other Mycoplasma species are involved. A quantitative PCR was developed to determine the number of M. fermentans genome copies present in 1 microg of DNA for controls and CFS patients. Mycoplasma copy numbers ranging from 130 to 880 and from 264 to 2400 were detected in controls and CFS positive subjects, respectively. An enzyme immunoassay was applied for the detection of antibodies against p29 surface lipoprotein of M. fermentans to determine the relationship between M. fermentans genome copy numbers and antibody levels. Individuals with high genome copy numbers exhibited higher IgG and IgM antibodies against M. fermentans specific peptides. Isolation of this organism by culture from clinical specimens is needed in order to demonstrate specificity of signal detected by PCR in this study.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma fermentans; Polymerase Chain Reaction
PubMed: 9879928
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-695X.1998.tb01226.x -
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 1983Three species of mycoplasma have been established as being of importance as causes of pneumonia in housed calves, based on pathogenicity studies and frequency of... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Review
Three species of mycoplasma have been established as being of importance as causes of pneumonia in housed calves, based on pathogenicity studies and frequency of association with the disease. These three species are Mycoplasma bovis, M. dispar, and Ureaplasma diversum. M. bovis is the most pathogenic of these species but the disease outbreaks with which it is associated are sporadic. M. dispar is regularly isolated from pneumonic calves but is also found causing mild superficial and asymptomatic infections of the respiratory mucosa. The bovine ureaplasmas are serologically complex. They are distinct from ureaplasmas isolated from other non-ruminants by PAGE analysis, G + C content of DNA, and serology. A second species within the genus ureaplasma has been proposed to accommodate the bovine ureaplasmas, U. diversum. Control of mycoplasma respiratory infections of cattle based on immunization might be possible. Calves have been immunized against M. bovis and immunity has been related to antibody in the lung. M. dispar appears less immunogenic in calves than M. bovis and this may contribute to its pathogenicity.
Topics: Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial; Antigens, Bacterial; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Female; Immunization; Lung; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma Infections; Mycoplasmatales Infections; Pneumonia; Ureaplasma
PubMed: 6382831
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Bacteriology Sep 1970Twelve filtrable, pleomorphic organisms isolated from swine joints and respiratory tracts had typical colonial and microscopic characteristics of mycoplasmas. They...
Twelve filtrable, pleomorphic organisms isolated from swine joints and respiratory tracts had typical colonial and microscopic characteristics of mycoplasmas. They resisted penicillin and did not revert to cell wall-producing bacterial forms in media devoid of bacterial inhibitors. The morphological and growth characteristics of these mycoplasmas were similar to those described previously for Mycoplasma granularum. However, a new name, M. hyosynoviae, is proposed for them since they differed biologically, serologically, and electrophoretically from the prototype strain of M. granularum. M. hyosynoviae required sterols, was stimulated by gastric mucin, and metabolized arginine; however, it did not metabolize urea, ferment glucose, or reduce tetrazolium. The organism produced "film and spots" on horse serum-supplemented medium and produced alpha hemolysis of guinea pig and sheep erythrocytes; however, it did not digest serum, produce phosphatase, or hemadsorb guinea pig or swine erythrocytes. M. hyosynoviae was distinguished from three other swine mycoplasmas, M. granularum, M. hyorhinis, and M. laidlawii, by means of acrylamide gel electrophoresis, growth inhibition, metabolic inhibition, and immunodiffusion techniques. It was also serologically and electrophoretically distinct from 13 additional non-swine mycoplasmas which require sterols and metabolize arginine.
Topics: Acrylates; Arginine; Bacterial Proteins; Electrophoresis; Fermentation; Gels; Glucose; Hemadsorption; Hemolysis; Immunodiffusion; Joints; Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; Mycoplasma; Nose; Penicillin Resistance; Species Specificity; Sterols; Tetrazolium Salts; Urea
PubMed: 4991614
DOI: 10.1128/jb.103.3.707-713.1970 -
Journal of Bacteriology Feb 1962Gill, James W. (University of New Hampshire, Durham). Culture and metabolism of Mycoplasma gallisepticum. J. Bacteriol. 83:213-218. 1962.-Mycoplasma gallisepticum A5969,...
Gill, James W. (University of New Hampshire, Durham). Culture and metabolism of Mycoplasma gallisepticum. J. Bacteriol. 83:213-218. 1962.-Mycoplasma gallisepticum A5969, a strong-growing pleuropneumonia-like organism pathogenic for poultry, was found to be intolerant of extremes of temperature and potassium ion concentration. It ferments glucose to the benefit of cell yield, but glycolysis appears not to be essential to growth. Anaerobic growth can be maintained if pyruvate is added as a hydrogen recipient.A transamination system between glutamic acid and aspartic acid, more rapid toward the formation of aspartic acid, was found in a frozen-cell preparation. Two small peptides were observed to be produced by the organism and liberated into the medium under normal growth conditions. The composition of the peptides shows a relationship to the cell wall of certain bacteria.
Topics: Glucose; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma Infections; Mycoplasma gallisepticum; Pyruvates
PubMed: 13898603
DOI: 10.1128/jb.83.2.213-218.1962 -
The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine 1983The basis of gliding motility in prokaryotes including certain mycoplasmas and the ability of mycoplasmas to retain their characteristic cell shapes in the absence of a... (Review)
Review
The basis of gliding motility in prokaryotes including certain mycoplasmas and the ability of mycoplasmas to retain their characteristic cell shapes in the absence of a supporting cell wall is unexplained. This review examines the available studies describing proteins resembling contractile proteins and cytoskeletal proteins in prokaryotes. Proteins with a significant degree of amino acid sequence homology to the myofibrillar proteins actin and myosin Al light chain and to tropomyosin have been described in prokaryotes. In addition, protein preparations from Mycoplasma pneumoniae have been shown to bind heavy meromyosin fragments, anti-actin antibody, and phalloidin; however, it remains to be proved that proteins in these preparations sharing properties with actin are synthesized by the mycoplasma.
Topics: Actins; Bacterial Proteins; Contractile Proteins; Cytochalasins; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Mycoplasmatales; Peptide Elongation Factor Tu; Peptide Elongation Factors
PubMed: 6433566
DOI: No ID Found -
TheScientificWorldJournal 2014Mycoplasmas are fastidious slow growing organisms lacking a cell wall and mostly isolated from the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory and genitourinary tracts. There is...
Mycoplasmas are fastidious slow growing organisms lacking a cell wall and mostly isolated from the mucosal surfaces of the respiratory and genitourinary tracts. There is a dearth of information regarding clinical Mycoplasma spp. isolates among Egyptian patients. A total of 170 samples were collected from patients and apparently healthy personnel in local public hospitals in Cairo, Egypt. Isolation of Mycoplasma spp. was carried out using appropriate culture media and further identification was carried out by biochemical tests followed by serotyping using specific antisera. Confirmation was done by PCR for detection of different Mycoplasma spp. using genus-specific primers targeting 16S ribosomal RNA gene. Characterization of the antibiotic resistance and sensitivity pattern against different antimicrobials was carried out using disc diffusion test. The results indicated the presence of six Mycoplasma spp. in 22.94% of the samples. Mycoplasmas were detected more frequently in throat swabs than sputum. Mycoplasma pneumoniae was highly sensitive to macrolides and quinolones but less sensitive to aminoglycosides and tetracyclines. Molecular techniques were found to be of more rapid, highly sensitive, able to detect nonviable organisms, and cost effective. These results shed light on difficulties of Mycoplasma detection and the superiority of molecular techniques over culture.
Topics: Bacterial Typing Techniques; Colony Count, Microbial; Egypt; Hospitals; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Molecular Typing; Mycoplasma
PubMed: 25506614
DOI: 10.1155/2014/549858 -
Journal of Applied Microbiology Aug 2008To apply a rapid nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay of substrate metabolism by mycoplasmas that would help to differentiate Mycoplasmas. (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Tetrazolium reduction methods for assessment of substrate oxidation and strain differentiation among mycoplasmas, with particular reference to Mycoplasma bovigenitalium and some members of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster.
AIMS
To apply a rapid nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction assay of substrate metabolism by mycoplasmas that would help to differentiate Mycoplasmas.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Growth, substrate preferences and tetrazolium reduction were assessed for 18 strains of Mycoplasma bovigenitalium and Mycoplasma ovine serogroup 11. NBT reduction was detectable in 1 h with 10(8) CFU ml(-1). Use of alpha-ketobutyrate, lactate and pyruvate to support growth and NBT reduction were correlated: pyruvate was preferred and lactate was used by only four of the 18 strains. Selected members of the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster were also assessed and monotetrazoles tested as alternatives to NBT. The NBT method was applied to a further 19 species.
CONCLUSIONS
This simple and reproducible method requires only small amounts of cells, enabling routine assessment of substrate use within 1 h, and the rapid assignment of numerous mycoplasmas to one of six physiological groups. The four physiological groups of M. bovigenitalium and Mycoplasma serogroup 11 strains were indistinguishable from each other, which supports the view that these belong to the same species.
SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY
Strain-specific substrate-utilization patterns by mycoplasmas can be obtained rapidly and reliably. The method has potential as a large-scale semi-automated procedure to monitor numerous strains and substrates simultaneously.
Topics: Bacteriological Techniques; Base Sequence; Molecular Sequence Data; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma bovigenitalium; Mycoplasma mycoides; Oxidation-Reduction; Ribotyping; Substrate Specificity; Tetrazolium Salts
PubMed: 18312568
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2008.03772.x -
Journal of Bacteriology Jun 2017Although mycoplasmas have small genomes, many of them, including the HIV-associated opportunist , construct a polar attachment organelle (AO) that is used for both...
The Variable Internal Structure of the Mycoplasma penetrans Attachment Organelle Revealed by Biochemical and Microscopic Analyses: Implications for Attachment Organelle Mechanism and Evolution.
Although mycoplasmas have small genomes, many of them, including the HIV-associated opportunist , construct a polar attachment organelle (AO) that is used for both adherence to host cells and gliding motility. However, the irregular phylogenetic distribution of similar structures within the mycoplasmas, as well as compositional and ultrastructural differences among these AOs, suggests that AOs have arisen several times through convergent evolution. We investigated the ultrastructure and protein composition of the cytoskeleton-like material of the AO with several forms of microscopy and biochemical analysis, to determine whether the AO was constructed at the molecular level on principles similar to those of other mycoplasmas, such as and We found that the AO interior was generally dissimilar from that of other mycoplasmas, in that it exhibited considerable heterogeneity in size and shape, suggesting a gel-like nature. In contrast, several of the 12 potential protein components identified by mass spectrometry of detergent-insoluble proteins shared certain distinctive biochemical characteristics with AO proteins, although not with proteins. We conclude that convergence between and AOs extends to the molecular level, leading to the possibility that the less organized material in both and is the substance principally responsible for the organization and function of the AO. is a bacterium that infects HIV-positive patients and may contribute to the progression of AIDS. It attaches to host cells through a structure called an AO, but it is not clear how it builds this structure. Our research is significant not only because it identifies the novel protein components that make up the material within the AO that give it its structure but also because we find that the AO is organized unlike AOs from other mycoplasmas, suggesting that similar structures have evolved multiple times. From this work, we derive some basic principles by which mycoplasmas, and potentially all organisms, build structures at the subcellular level.
Topics: Bacterial Structures; Biological Evolution; Mass Spectrometry; Mycoplasma penetrans; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Organelles
PubMed: 28373274
DOI: 10.1128/JB.00069-17 -
Microbiology and Immunology 1992By using the primers designed on the bases of the sequences of the 16S rRNA genes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium, respectively, specific and...
By using the primers designed on the bases of the sequences of the 16S rRNA genes of Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium, respectively, specific and sensitive in vitro DNA amplification assay system for the detection and discrimination of these two mycoplasmas was established. The detection limit of the assay was 100 cells for M. pneumoniae and 1,000 cells for M. genitalium. Neither other human mycoplasmas nor oral bacteria existing in human saliva showed any cross-reactions with these primers.
Topics: Base Sequence; DNA, Bacterial; Humans; Molecular Sequence Data; Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma pneumoniae; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Species Specificity
PubMed: 1584069
DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.1992.tb01638.x -
Anais Da Academia Brasileira de Ciencias 2016Mycoplasmas are a large group of bacteria, sorted into different genera in the Mollicutes class, whose main characteristic in common, besides the small genome, is the... (Review)
Review
Mycoplasmas are a large group of bacteria, sorted into different genera in the Mollicutes class, whose main characteristic in common, besides the small genome, is the absence of cell wall. They are considered cellular and molecular biology study models. We present an updated review of the molecular biology of these model microorganisms and the development of replicative vectors for the transformation of mycoplasmas. Synthetic biology studies inspired by these pioneering works became possible and won the attention of the mainstream media. For the first time, an artificial genome was synthesized (a minimal genome produced from consensus sequences obtained from mycoplasmas). For the first time, a functional artificial cell has been constructed by introducing a genome completely synthesized within a cell envelope of a mycoplasma obtained by transformation techniques. Therefore, this article offers an updated insight to the state of the art of these peculiar organisms' molecular biology.
Topics: Artificial Cells; Genome, Bacterial; Molecular Biology; Mycoplasma; Phylogeny; Recombination, Genetic; Tenericutes
PubMed: 27142538
DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201620150164