High-resolution melting curve analysis: a novel method for identification of Mycoplasma species isolated from clinical cases of bovine and porcine respiratory disease

Mycoplasma species cause wide ranges of infectious diseases in human and animals. The aim of the present study was to evaluate a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) followed by a high-resolution melting curve assay (HRM) for rapid differentiation of Mycoplasma species isolated from clinical cases of bovine and porcine respiratory disease. Lung samples from suspected cases to respiratory infections from cows and pigs were cultured on specific media, and the extracted DNA were tested by conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for Mycoplasma. A set of universal primers specific for the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was designed and used for RT-PCR and HRM. The HRM analysis was able to differentiate between five different species of Mycoplasmas, namely, M. hyopneumoniae, M. bovis, M. hyorhinis, M. hyosynoviae and other uncultured Mycoplasma. All results were confirmed based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing. This rapid and reliable assay was as a simple alternative to PCR and sequencing, differentiating bovine and porcine mycoplasmas in species level.