Cardiolipin synthetase is involved in antagonistic interaction (reverse CAMP phenomenon) of Mycoplasma species with Staphylococcus aureus beta-hemolysis.

Mycoplasma hyorhinis has been implicated in a variety of swine diseases. However, little is known about the hemolytic capabilities of Mycoplasma species in general or M. hyorhinis in particular. In this study, we show that M. hyorhinis possesses beta-hemolytic activity which may be involved in the invasion process. M. hyorhinis also possesses antagonistic cooperativity (reverse CAMP phenomenon) with Staphylococcus aureus beta-hemolysis, resulting in the protection of erythrocytes from the beta-hemolytic activity of S. aureus (reverse CAMP). The reversed CAMP phenomenon has been attributed to phospholipase D (PLD) activity. In silico analysis of the M. hyorhinis genome revealed the absence of the pld gene but the presence of the cls gene encoding cardiolipin synthetase, which contains two PLD active domains. The transformation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum that has neither the cls gene nor the reverse CAMP phenomenon with the cls gene from M. hyorhinis resulted in the reverse CAMP phenomenon, suggesting for the first time that reverse CAMP can be induced by cardiolipin synthetase.