MYCOPLASMA-AURIS SP-NOV, MYCOPLASMA-COTTEWII SP-NOV, AND MYCOPLASMA-YEATSII SP-NOV, NEW STEROL-REQUIRING MOLLICUTES FROM THE EXTERNAL EAR CANALS OF GOATS

Three mycoplasma strains, designated GIH(T) (T = type strain), UIA(T), and VIST, were isolated from the external ear canals of goats and wer e shown to be serologically distinct from each other and from previous ly described Acholeplasma, Entomoplasma, Mesoplasma, and Mycoplasma sp ecies. Using light and transmission electron microscopy, we showed tha t the cells of these organisms were small, pleomorphic, coccoid, nonmo tile, and nonhelical and that each cell was surrounded by a single cyt oplasmic membrane. There was no evidence of a cell wall, and the organ isms grew freely in media containing penicillin at concentrations of 1 ,000 U/ml or more and thallous acetate (final concentration, 1:4,000) and produced the ''fried-egg'' morphology typical of most mollicutes. Growth occurred both aerobically and anaerobically (as determined by t he GasPak method). The ability to catabolize glucose and mannose and t he ability to hydrolyze arginine varied among the three strains. All t hree strains required sterol for growth, and none of the strains hydro lyzed urea. The guanine-plus-cytosine contents of the DNAs of strains UIA(T), VIST, and GIH(T) were determined to be 26.9, 27.0, and 26.6 mo l%, respectively. Our data indicate that the three strains represent n ew Mycoplasma species, for which we propose the names Mycoplasma auris , Mycoplasma cottewii, and Mycoplasma yeatsii. The type strain of M au ris is UIA (= ATCC 51348 = NCTC 11731), the type strain of M. cottewii is VIS (= ATCC 51347 = NCTC 11732), and the type strain of M. yeatsii is GIH (= ATCC 51346 = NCTC 11730).