A gene probe to detect Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae, the etiological agent of enzootic porcine pneumonia.

Enzootic porcine pneumonia is caused by Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Since the disease is of world-wide importance it is important to detect and identify the causative agent. In experience laboratories this mycoplasma can usually be detected by culture but its identification still is difficult and time consuming. We have cloned random Eco R1 fragments of M. hyopneumoniae DNA to M13mp19 and used the resultant recombinant to produce a probe capable of detecting approximately 10 pg of the mycoplasma DNA (10(4) organisms). By using appropriate stringency the test was made specific for M. hyopneumoniae, although at lower stringency reaction was positive with Mycoplasma flocculare at 1000 x the concentration limit. The assay did not detect M. hyopneumoniae in DNA from lungs of chronically infected animals but it did react with DNA isolated from the organisms cultured from the infected lung material.