Effects of growth phase and antibiotics on quantitative DNA/RNA hybridization

Specificity of oligonucleotide probes complementary to evolutionarily variable regions of 16S rRNA from Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Mycoplasma hyorhinis

Mycoplasma is the common name for the smallest free-living microorganisms, the Mollicutes. Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is of great importance in veterinary medicine, causing enzootic pneumonia in pigs. M hyorhinis can cause polyserositis and may cause pneumonia in piglets. Oligonucleotides complementary to variable regions of 16S rRNA from these mycoplasmas were designed and used as probes for detection and identification of these mycoplasmas. The probe complementary to 16S rRNA of M hyorhinis gave a very weak cross-hybridisation with M hyosynoviae in filter hybridisation experiments, but not with any of the other porcine mycoplasmas tested. Three oligonucleotide probes complementary to M hyopneumoniae 16S rRNA were tested. One of the probes (Mhp6/30) was found to be specific to M hyopneumoniae, but the other two gave cross-hybridisation with M flocculare. Using the Mhp6/30 probe in direct filter hybridisation experiments, it proved possible to detect M hyopneumoniae in lung biopsies from experimentally infected pigs.

Detection of Mycoplasma bovis and Mycoplasma agalactiae by oligonucleotide probes complementary to 16S rRNA

The partial sequences of 16S rRNA from Mycoplasma bovis and M. agalactiae were determined by dideoxynucleotide sequencing using reverse transcriptase. Two oligonucleotides complementary to different evolutionary variable regions of 16S rRNA from these two species were synthesized. The oligonucleotides were end-labelled with 32P and used as probes in filter hybridization experiments with different bovine, caprine and ovine mycoplasmas as samples. One of the probes, complementary to a sequence of the V8-region of both M. bovis and M. agalactiae, did not cross-hybridize to any bovine, caprine or ovine mycoplasmas except M. bovigenitalium and M. californicum. This probe is thus not useful for analysis of bovine samples, but can be used for detection of M. agalactiae in samples from goats and sheep, since M. bovigenitalium and M. californicum have never been isolated from these hosts and M. bovis only occasionally. The other probe, complementary to a sequence of the V6-region of M. bovis, gave some cross-hybridization with M. agalactiae but not with bovine mycoplasmas. M. agalactiae has never been isolated from cattle and this probe is therefore useful for rapid screening of bovine samples for M. bovis.