DETECTION OF UROGENITAL MYCOPLASMAL INFECTIONS IN PRIMATES BY USE OF POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

Urogenital mycoplasmal infections could affect use of primates as mode ls for reproductive system studies and could affect reproduction in ca ptive primates, but could be useful as animal models of similar human infections, We conducted a pilot study to assess detection of urogenit al mycoplasmal infections in primates by use of polymerase chain react ion (PCR), Healthy animals were anesthetized, and vaginal, cervical, o r endometrial and urethral swab specimens were collected from females and males, respectively, Specimens were tested by PCR supplemented wit h dot blotting and nonradiolabeled oligonucleotide probing for 16S rRN A sequences conserved among mollicutes. Specimens with positive result s were tested by species-specific PCRs with primers for 16S rRNA seque nces of Ureaplasma urealyticum and Mycoplasma hominis and for adhesin gene sequences of Mycoplasma genitalium, Spiked duplicate reactions we re included as internal controls for each reaction, Results for 232 sp ecimens from 166 animals indicate that naturally acquired urogenital i nfections are readily detected and suggest that urogenital mycoplasmal infections are common in laboratory primates (48/166 [29%] overall), M. hominis and U. urealyticum appeared to be common among the studied primates overall and especially in chimpanzees, Mycoplasmas other than M. genitalium, M. hominis, and U. urealyticum appeared to be at least as common as these three, with specimens from 18 of 48 animals (38%) having positive ''generic'' PCR results, but no positive results in sp ecies-specific PCRs.