MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGY OF MYCOPLASMA-MYCOIDES SUBSP MYCOIDES BIOTYPE SMALL-COLONY, THE AGENT OF CONTAGIOUS BOVINE PLEUROPNEUMONIA

Restriction endonuclease analysis (REA) and immunoblotting were used t o compare field strains of Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides biotype Small Colony from different parts of Europe and Africa. Of the 27 str ains tested by REA, the European ones (n=15), except 3 from the Iberia n peninsula, differed strikingly from the African ones (n=10). Vaccina l strains T(1-)SR and KH(3)J had a unique REA pattern. Polyclonal immu noblot profiles of 46 strains appeared fairly similar. However most of the Italian strains (22 out of 24) shared a characteristic, in the 10 0 kDa area, unlike that of the other European strains. Immunoprofiles of the reference strain PG1 and vaccinal strain T-1-SR were different from the others. These results allowed the determination of possible l inks between different geographic region of enzootic contagious bovine pleuropneumonia.