Molecular Tools for Typing Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium

Abstract

Mycoplasma pneumoniae and Mycoplasma genitalium are cell wall-less bacteria with strongly reduced genome content and close phylogenetic relatedness. In humans, the only known natural host, the microorganisms colonize the respiratory or genitourinary mucosa and may cause a broad range of clinical presentations. Besides fundamental differences in their tissue specificity, transmission route, and ability to cause prevalence peaks, both species share similarities such as the occurrence of asymptomatic carriers, preferred populations for infection, and problems with high rates of antimicrobial resistance. To further understand the epidemiology of these practically challenging bacteria, typing of strains is necessary. Since the cultivation of both pathogens is difficult and not performed outside of specialized laboratories, molecular typing methods with adequate discriminatory power, stability, and reproducibility have been developed. These include the characterization of genes containing repetitive sequences, of variable genome regions without the presence of repetitive sequences, determination of single and multi-locus variable-number tandem repeats, and detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms in different genes, respectively. The current repertoire of procedures allows reliable differentiation of strains circulating in different populations and in different time periods as well as comparison of strains occurring subsequently in individual patients. In this review, the methods for typing M. pneumoniae and M. genitalium, including the results of their application in different studies, are summarized and current knowledge regarding the association of typing data with the clinical characteristics of infections is presented.

Increases in the Macrolide Resistance of Mycoplasma genitalium and the Emergence of the A2058T Mutation in the 23S rRNA Gene: Clonal Spread?

“…In this study, the molecular characterisation of M. genitalium was undertaken through the genetic combination of the MG191 and MG309 alleles. This technique has been shown to have a highly discriminant capacity, having already been used for tracing the infection through networks of sexual contacts and differentiating between persistent and recurrent infections [ 13 , 18 , 30 , 31 ]. The strains with an A2058T mutation in the rRNA 23S gene were genetically diverse, and 15 genetic profiles were identified among the 27 cases detected, with only 3 groupings of subjects infected with an apparent relationship, these representing 48% of the cases.…”

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles and Genetic Characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae in Shanghai, China, from 2017 to 2019

“…In this regard, several genotyping methods have been developed. 6 Among them, P1 typing is one of the most common methods. 7 , 8 The MLVA typing has a higher discriminability than the P1 subtyping method.…”

Clinical, Laboratory, and Radiographic Features Can Help Predict Mycoplasma pneumoniae Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in Children

“…It is unclear why epidemics occur in cyclic patterns, but one theory links this phenomenon to an alternation of Mp genotypes [ 1 ]. Mp isolates can be classified into two major genetic groups, designated subtype 1 and subtype 2, based on sequence differences in repetitive elements RepMP2/3 and RepMP4 in the P1 protein gene [ 1 , 41 ]. It has been speculated that the cyclical Mp epidemics that tend to occur every few years can be related to a shift from one P1 subtype to the other since the two major subtypes are immunologically distinct and exposure to one subtype may induce transient herd immunity that suppresses infection with that subtype while allowing the other one to reemerge [ 1 ].…”