Electrophoretic characterization of bovine mycoplasma and acholeplasma reference strains.

Phenol-acetic acid-water extracts of 13 recognized mycoplasma and acholeplasma reference strains of bovine habitat were subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A characteristic electrophoretic profile was obtained for each strain and the relative mobility (Rm) values of the major protein fractions were determined. All examined strains had a common protein band of 33.3 Rm value. Comparison of electrophoretic patterns obtained from different reference strains revealed 2 to 7 protein bands with the same Rm values in a number of strains. A possible correlation with antigenic relatedness is discussed.