Growth characteristics of ureaplasmas from animal and human sources.

Ureaplasma strains isolated from man, nonhuman primates, and canine, feline and avian hosts had less demanding nutritional requirements than did strains obtained from bovine and ovine sources. One millimolar Mn+2 inhibited the growth of most of the ureaplasmas examined, but had a stimulatory effect for at least one strain. The response to Mn+2 appeared to be a characteristic of the individual isolate, rather than of the host from which it was isolated. While two strains of U. urealyticum isolated from man were able to degrade human IgA into two fragments, 13 strains from seven animal species were not.