SPECIES-SPECIFIC OLIGONUCLEOTIDE PROBES COMPLEMENTARY TO 16S RIBOSOMAL-RNA OF MYCOPLASMA-GALLISEPTICUM AND MYCOPLASMA-SYNOVIAE

Mycoplasma gallisepticum and M synoviae are important avian pathogens causing respiratory diseases which result in great economic losses in poultry farming. Two oligonucleotide probes, complementary to the vari able region V8 of 16S rRNA from the avian mycoplasmas M gallisepticum and M synoviae have, therefore, been designed and used in direct filte r hybridisation experiments. Both probes gave strong hybridisation sig nals with their homologous targets, whereas no cross-hybridisations we re obtained with any of the other avian mycoplasmas tested. It was pos sible to detect 2.3 x 10(4) mycoplasma organisms by direct filter hybr idisation experiments with radiolabelled probes. The probes were also used to analyse several laboratory strains and field isolates of M gal lisepticum and M synoviae with complete agreement between the probe te chnique and the other methods used for species determination. Atypical M gallisepticum strains also gave strong hybridisation signals with t he M gallisepticum specific probe.