Ribotyping of Mycoplasma gallisepticum strains with a 16S ribosomal RNA gene probe.

Ribotyping with a 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) probe was applied to 25 Mycoplasma gallisepticum strains composed of nine originally isolated in the US and UK, and 16 field isolates from Japan. Four distinct ribotypes were identified among the M. gallisepticum strains on the basis of sizes of the bands produced by digesting genomic DNA with restriction enzymes HindIII, EcoRI, BglII and EcoRV. Three ribotypes were recognized among the 16 Japanese isolates. The original and vaccine F strains were classified as the same ribotype, although they produced different banding patterns with BglII, suggesting that the vaccine strain may be a mutant of the original. Other avian mycoplasma species produced banding patterns different from each other and from M. gallisepticum strains. Characterization of M. gallisepticum strains by ribotyping with a 16S rDNA probe may benefit surveillance and epidemiological investigations on M. gallisepticum infection.