Detection and Differentiation of Ruminant Mycoplasmas

More than 20 different species of mollicutes, most of them belonging to the genus Mycoplasma , have been identified from ruminant hosts to date. While a considerable part of this group is conceived to be of minor epidemiological relevance, it contains some important pathogenic agents that have specific host ranges. Due to several peculiar properties of mycoplasmas, which include the absence of a cell wall and the capability of surface antigen variation, diseases caused by mycoplasmas are difficult to control in the conventional fashion by chemotherapy or immunoprophylaxis. Another general feature of mycoplasma infections is their protracted and occasionally chronic course. Five mycoplasmas of economic and welfare importance are mentioned here and serve as examples for the variety of clinical and diagnostic circumstances that can be resolved using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).