Exam 2: Mycoplasma Flashcards
Do the bacteria in the family Mollicutes have cell wall?
No
What is the mycoplasma cell morphology?
Pleomorphic: round, flask like, and filamentous forms
Plastic
Filterable (0.45 μm cell)
What is the first mycoplasma found in history? What animal species was the pathogen first found in? What was the impact of this on agricultural development?
M. mycoides subsp mycoide
Bovine
Its spread led to the establishment of the Bureau of Animal Industry of USDA in 1884
What is the “parasitically or commensally” living lifestyle of mycoplasmas?
Do not replicate in environment
Rely on ost for nutrients
Fastidious growth requirements
What is unique about mycoplasmas?
They are one of the smallest known self-replicating prokaryotes and living organisms
What is one of the earliest species which had full genomes sequenced?
M. genitalium
How big was the genome size of M. genitalium? How did this compare to other bacteria?
580 kb with 482 genes
It is the smallest organism
What is the minimal genome project?
By Hamilton Smith and Crag Venter
Ability to reduce genome size to the smallest possible
M. genitalium is a good example of this
M. laboratorium, 382 genes
What are the fastidious growth requirements of mycoplasmas?
Sterols are needed for growth
Can be cultured in embryonated eggs, cell-culture systems, rich medium
Aerobic, capnophilic, and microaerophilic
What do mycosplasma colonies look like?
Fried egg appearance
What are the most important bovine myscoplamsas?
M. mycoides subsp mycoide and M. bovis
What are the most important avian mycoplasmas?
M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae
What is the most important swine mycoplasma?
M. hyopneumoniae
How can you diagnose M. bovis?
Bacterial culture, serology, PCR
How can you diagnose M. hyopneumoniae?
Clinical observation, postmortem and histological examination
Culture is slow, difficult, and not routinely available
PCR is reliable
Are there any mycoplasma vaccines available?
Yes, there are some for M. gallisepticum, M. synoviae, M. hyopneumoniae, and M. bovis
What are the common infected tissues/organs?
Respiratory tract, urogenital tract, joints
Which mycoplasmas cause mastitis in bovine?
M. bovis M. californicum M. alkalescens M. canadense M. bovigentallium
Which mycoplasmas cause respiratory diseases in chicken and turkey? Bovine? Swine?
M. gallisepticum
M. mycoides subsp mycoide and M. bovis
M. hyopneumonia
Which mycoplasmas cause arthritis in avian? Swine? Bovine?
M. synoviae
M. hyosynoviae
M. bovis
How are mycoplasmas transmitted?
Inhalation, man’s intervention (insemination), spread through egg, venereal disease
How should M. bovis be controlled?
Stress reduction, good management, sanitation of milking equipment
How should M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae be controlled?
Clean breeder flocks, monitoring, and removal of reactor flocks
How should M. hyopneumoniae be controlled?
Environmental management, reduction of stress, periodic examination of lungs, serologic monitoring, vaccination
