Differentiation of two biovars of Ureaplasma urealyticum based on the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer region

The 165-23S rRNA intergenic spacer regions of 14 strains representing the 1 4 serovars of Ureaplasma urealyticum were amplified by PCR and sequenced fo r genetic differentiation between the two biovars Parvo and T960. Although the spacer region of the Parvo and T960 biovars comprised 302 nucleotides a nd lacked spacer tRNA genes, 15 nucleotides were different between the two biovars. The four nucleotide sequences of the 16S-23S rRNA intergenic space r region of serovars 1, 3, 6 and 14 in the Parvo biovar were found to be id entical. Similarly, the 10 nucleotide sequences of the 16S-23S rRNA interge nic spacer region of serovars 2, 4, 5, and 7 to 13 in the T960 biovar were found to be identical. The nucleotide sequence of the T960 biovar contains multiple restriction sites for restriction endonuclease SspI, which allows differentiation of the T960 biovar from the Parvo biovar.