We report the complete genome sequence of Mycoplasma parvum strain Indiana. Its circular chromosome is 564,395 bp, which is smaller than that of Mycoplasma genitalium, which was previously considered the smallest member of the Mollicutes. Comparative analyses of the genomes of M. parvum and Mycoplasma suis will provide novel insights into the molecular basis of their virulence.

The 16S rRNA gene of Haemobartonella felis was amplified by using universal eubacterial primers and was subsequently cloned and sequenced. Based on this sequence data, we designed a set of H. felis-specific primers. These primers selectively amplified a 1,316-bp DNA fragment of the 16S rRNA gene of H. felis from each of four experimentally infected cats at peak parasitemia. No PCR product was a...

Blood-borne mycoplasmas, known collectively as hemotropic mycoplasmas or hemoplasmas, are small, pleomorphic, epicellular bacteria that adhere to the host’s red blood cells. They cannot be cultured. They can be detected microscopically in blood smears and, more reliably, through use of PCR assays on whole blood. The hemoplasmas vary in severity of disease caused to the host and most infected an...

Eperythrozoonosis is a small ruminant disease caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma ovis (formerly known as Eperythrozoon ovis). Whilst acute infection in sheep may result in an anaemia and ill thrift syndrome, most animals do not develop clinical signs. Molecular methods were used to compare and evaluate the prevalence of infection with M. ovis in sheep and goats in Tunisia. A total of 739 whole ...

Mycoplasma parvum [Eperythrozoon parvum] is the second hemotrophic mycoplasma (hemoplasma) described in pigs. Unlike M. suis, its closest phylogenetic relative, M. parvum, is considered a non-pathogenic bacterium in this host species. Natural infection of a domestic, 6-month-old splenectomized pig with M. parvum strain Indiana is described herein. Light and scanning electron microscopy of the b...

Concomitantly with an outbreak of fatal anaplasmosis in a cattle herd in Switzerland in 2002, we detected two bovine hemoplasma species in diseased animals: Mycoplasma wenyonii (formerly Eperythrozoon wenyonii) and a second, novel bovine hemoplasma species later designated "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobos" (synonym, "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemobovis"). The second species was characterized by a s...