A physical and genetic map of the Mycoplasma flocculare ATCC 27716 chromosome reveals large genomic inversions when compared with that of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strain J(T).

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and DNA hybridization data were used to construct a chromosomal map of Mycoplasma flocculare ATCC 27716, a non-pathogenic inhabitant of porcine respiratory tracts. Twenty-one genetic markers were placed on the map. Comparison of the genetic map with that of the closely related Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae strain J(T), the type strain of the causative agent of enzootic pneumonia in pigs, identified three chromosomal inversions that differentiate these genomes. One of these inversions involves genes that possibly may be involved in M. hyopneumoniae pathogenicity.