The exact role of mycoplasma in feline ocular and respiratory disease is not yet understood. The results of previous studies are contradictory in this regard. There is some evidence to suggest that M. felis has a pathogenic role in such diseases, but it is inconclusive. / The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and anatomical distribution of mycoplasmas in a population of shelter cats, to determine which species were present, and establish the association of their presence with ocular or respiratory disease. / The prevalence of mycoplasma in the 110 cats examined was 71.8%, as determined by in vitro culture. Mycoplasma was most commonly isolated from the pharynx, followed by the bronchus and conjunctiva. In infected cats, mycoplasmas were likely to be isolated from multiple anatomical sites. / The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to amplify part of the 16S rRNA gene, and the mutation scanning technique non-isotopic single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) was utilised to delineate mycoplasma isolates based on nucleotide sequence variation. PCR-SSCP proved to be a useful method to screen large numbers of samples for variation and to group them according to species. / The species of mycoplasma identified by nucleotide sequencing were M. felis and M. gateae. It was not determined whether it was possible to differentiate between M. gateae and M. arginini based on SSCP profile results with the target DNA region used due to their almost identical nucleotide sequence. This group of M. gateae/M. arginini served as a useful non-pathogenic comparison group to M. felis. / There was no statistically significant difference between M. felis and the M. gateae/M. arginini group with respect to prevalence or anatomic distribution. There was no evidence of any association of mycoplasma with disease linked to any of the anatomic locations studied. / Mycoplasmas were isolated from the lower respiratory tract in 42.7% of cats. The isolation of mycoplasmas from the lower respiratory tract of healthy cats has been reported once, but this is the first report of M. felis being isolated from this location in healthy cats. This finding indicates that the isolation of mycoplasmas from the lower respiratory tract is not sufficient evidence to implicate a role in respiratory disease. / Mycoplasmas were not significantly involved in ocular or respiratory disease in the population of cats studied. More likely, they are commensal organisms in the conjunctiva, pharynx and bronchus. Whether they are capable of playing an opportunistic role in disease, or what conditions may facilitate such a role remains to be determined.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245532 |
| Date | January 2009 |
| Creators | Robinson, Sally Rae |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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