Molecular identification of drug resistant mutations to tetracycline in Mycoplasma spp. isolated from patients with multiple sclerosis

Bacterial infections play a significant role in causing or intensifying the attacks in MS and there are reports based on the interference of Mycoplasma with a global distribution. Mycoplasma causes autoimmune attacks by imitating the host cell membrane, which is a way of resistance to antibiotics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the molecular identification of mutations causing resistance to tetracycline in Mycoplasma isolated from MS patients. A total number of 32 cerebrospinal fluid samples and 48 urinal fluid samples were collected from MS patients. The samples were enriched in 7 PPLO broth for one night and continuous cultivation in agar PPLO and PPLO broth for one week. DNA was extracted, and then nested PCR and Doublex PCR were used for bacteria genus identification and the presence of potential tetracycline-resistant alleles (rrs4 and rrs3), respectively.  A total number of 12 samples created colonies. However, only 5 samples (1 cerebrospinal fluid and 4 urinal samples) were detected to be Mycoplasma. The urinal samples showed the desired alleles and were tetracycline-resistant. By sequencing the PCR products, it was shown that these alleles have mutated in various points. Based on the results it seems that the resistant mutated Mycoplasma can be detected in MS patients in our population and may be considered as a risk factor for the disease.

Isolation and Detection of Mycoplasma agalactiae from Semen Samples of Goats

Contagious agalactia (CA) is a highly infectious disease of goats and sheep, and is a form of Mycoplasmosis, which is usually enzootic. Since Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. agalactiae) is the main cause of this disease in goats, the aim of this study was to isolate and detect M. agalactiae from semen of goat bucks. Thirty-nine semen samples were collected from goat bulks, and all samples were cultured in PPLO broth medium supplemented for M. agalaciae isolation. The bacteria DNAs were extracted from clinical samples and the PCR assay was applied to detect Mycoplasma genus and M. agalactiae species using specific primers, which amplified a 163bp fragment in 16SrRNA gene and a 375bp fragment in lipoprotein gene. The PCR evaluations were performed for both the clinical samples and the cultures. Out of the 39 samples, 29 (74.3%) of the cultures were shown positive and typical Mycoplasma colonies grew on PPLO agar, which could be considered as the diagnostic method. In addition, 38 (97.4%) samples had positive PCR results for Mycoplasma genus and six (15.3%) of the samples were shown to be positive using PCR for M. agalactiae as the diagnostic method. In the present study, M. agalactiae was detected in semen of goat bulks for the first time in Iran. Therefore, it is recommended to concern semen as one of the significant sources for this pathogen and the possibility for transmission to the female goats through semen is highlighted. Moreover, presence of this microorganism in semen could be involved in infertility of goat population.