Mycoplasma mucosicanis sp. nov., isolated from the mucosa of dogs

Abstract

Fourteen Mycoplasma strains were isolated from the oral cavity and genital tract of asymptomatic dogs. Isolates had been preliminarily identified by conventional serological testing as Mycoplasma bovigenitalium, but in 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer PCR-RFLP assays the isolates exhibited an RFLP pattern distinct from M. bovigenitalium PG11T. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene placed a representative of the isolates (strain 1642T) in the M. bovigenitalium subcluster of the Mycoplasma bovis cluster of mycoplasmas, with the highest sequence similarities to Mycoplasma californicum ST-6T (96.4 %), M. bovigenitalium PG11T (96.3 %) and Mycoplasma phocirhinis 852T (96.2 %). 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities almost equidistant from three recognized species and results obtained by sequence analysis of the 16S–23S rRNA intergenic spacer region, polar lipid profiles and serological reactions indicated that this organism represents a novel species of the genus Mycoplasma for which the name Mycoplasma mucosicanis sp. nov. is proposed, with strain 1642T ( = ATCC BAA-1895T  = DSM 22457T) as the type strain.