Another Case of Mistaken Identity: Rubella and Mycoplasma

Abstract

Short communications 8Ihave the ring-like appearance and the central nucleoid may have been particles of rubella virus (Fig. I).The failure of Chatterji et al. to observe similar particles in the large amount of control material examined is difficult to explain, as both the strains of virus which they used had been passed in the same line of RK I3 cells just before the experiments which they describe and one of the strains, I7L had only been passed in these cells since it was isolated. This, together with the observation that many of the virus harvests from the untreated Australian cells show higher infectivity titres of mycoplasma than of virus, must raise the possibility that even though the mycoplasma does not influence the virus, the converse might not always be true. However, studies to date have not indicated any difference between titres of mycoplasma attained in rubella-infected and control cultures.We are grateful to Professor B. P. Marmion for his advice and for the isolation of M. orale, Type I, from the Manchester line of RK 13.

Biological and Physical Properties of the Suckling Mouse Cataract Agent Grown in Chicken Embryos

“…Two other strains, one isolated from goats and one from turkey embryos, were resistant to 200 and 1,000 Mg/ml, respectively. Sodium aurothiomalate (0.025 ug/ ml) inhibited Mycoplasma in cell cultures (15) and 100 ,g/ml was sufficient to eliminate Mycoplasma from cell cultures and virus stocks (14). Low concentrations of sodium aurothiomalate also inhibited many of the 36 strains described above.…”

A simple method for detecting mycoplasma infection of cell cultures

“…and Chapman, 1970), and as contaminating antigens in virus preparations used to immunize animals they may give rise to troublesome cross-reacting antibodies particularly in fluorescent antibody studies (Harnett, unpublished observations, 1972). We describe a simple and sensitive method for detecting mycoplasma infection of cell cultures suitable for routine testing of cultures in diagnostic and research laboratories.…”