Mycoplasma arginini: high frequency involvement in goat pneumonia

Abstract

Mycoplasmas are an important class of bacteria associated with caprine pneumonia. Some of the main species involved are M. mycoides subsp. capri, M. capricolum subsp. capricolum, and M. capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae. In addition, there are frequent reports of M. arginini involvement. In the present study an attempt was made to see the association of various mollicutes in caprine pneumonia. In total 244 pneumonic goat lung samples collected over a 10-year period (2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012) were screened for the isolation and identification of associated mollicutes. The identification was done on the basis of biochemical tests, growth inhibition test, PCR, and sequencing. The most frequent isolates were Acholeplasma (20/244, i.e. 8.19%) and Mycoplasma arginini (13/244, i.e. 5.3%), followed by M. mycoides subsp. capri (1/244) and M. agalactiae (1/244). Seven representative isolates of M. arginini were subjected to partial sequencing of the rpoB gene. On phylogenic analysis, M. arginini isolates were found to be highly identical, exhibiting >98% identity with that of the standard M. arginini (ATCC 23243) strain. The results encourage exploration of the role of M. arginini in goat pneumonia in much detail, due to its high frequency involvement.

Clinical, histopathological, and molecular characterization of Mycoplasma species in sheep and goats in Egypt

“…Various serious problems are associated with Mycoplasma infection, such as contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, conjunctivitis, arthritis, mastitis, and mild respiratory distress [21]. M. ovipneumoniae and M. arginini are frequently present in pneumonic lesions among small ruminants [14,22].…”

“…If the characteristic mycoplasmal "fried egg" colonies appeared on the agar plates, agar blocks with Mycoplasma colonies were transferred into broth medium and incubated at 37°C for 2 or 3 days and then subjected to purification. Mycoplasma species were identified by a digitonin sensitivity disk, and biochemical characterization was performed by a glucose fermentation test and arginine deamination test, according to Valsala et al [14].…”

Isolation and molecular characterization of Mycoplasma spp. in sheep and goats in Egypt

“…Mycoplasmas of different species have been implicated in causing various diseases in sheep and goats including different respiratory manifestations, joint affection, conjunctivitis, and mastitis. The most common species isolated from small ruminants are M. mycoides cluster as Mycoplasma capricolum subspecies capripneumoniae the causative agent of contagious caprine pleuropneumonia, other species isolated from sheep and goats including Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae [24]; however, M. arginini has been isolated from a different pathological condition in small ruminants including pneumonia [17,25].…”

“…The high-frequency rate of isolation of M. arginini from different pathological cases in small ruminants, especially from pneumonic cases, and cases suffer from different respiratory manifestations [7,11,17,25] may refer to its pathogenic role in respiratory affections.…”

“…For nasal swab from living sheep and goats with respiratory manifestation, sterile cotton swabs were used to collect nasal swabs from nostrils of affected sheep and goats, and they were taken on pleuropneumonia-like organisms (PPLOs) broth placed in an icebox and submitted directly to the laboratory. Serial dilutions from nasal swab were formed and incubated on PPLO broth of pH 7.4-7.6 with 15% heat-inactivated swine serum, 10% fresh yeast extract, and 0.0005 g/ml thallium acetate at 37°C for 3-7 days, then cultured on solid PPLO media by running drop technique [17].…”