[Selective inhibition of DNA amplification in nonadhesive cultures of Mycoplasma pneumoniae].

Inhibition of amplification of various genome regions of Mycoplasma pneumoniae was observed in the polymerase chain reaction, and was dependent on cultivation conditions. A protein stably associated with DNA is responsible for the inhibitory effect. It is assumed that when the protein selectively associates with separate DNA regions, it can inhibit genes encoding pathogenicity factors, thus promoting mycoplasma transformation into persistent variants.