STUDIES OF INTRASPECIES HETEROGENEITY OF MYCOPLASMA-SYNOVIAE, MYCOPLASMA-MELEAGRIDIS, AND MYCOPLASMA-IOWAE WITH ARBITRARILY PRIMED POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION

Intraspecies genotypic heterogeneity among isolates and strains of M. synoviae (MS), M. iowae (MI), and M, meleagridis(MM) was demonstrated with the arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) method. The generated banding patterns of amplified DNA indicated a degree of genotypic heterogeneity among MS, MI, and MM isolates and strains tes ted, whereas isolates from common sources generated clusters with iden tical banding patterns. The results show that flocks infected with mem bers of the cluster were epidemiologically associated, possibly by a c ommon or point source of infection. This AP-PCR method may be a useful identification tool in epidemiology of mycoplasmosis in poultry.