VMC 311: Systematic Veterinary Bacteriology and Mycology (2+1)

History and habitat

HISTROY AND HABITAT

History

• The first mycoplasmal species, the causative agent of bovine pleuropneumonia, was first isolated by Nocard and Roux (1898).
• The species discovered later were called PPLO, because of their resemblance to the organisms causing pleuropneumonia.

Habitat

• The Mycoplasmas occur worldwide as free-living saprophytes or as parasites of animals.
• Both pathogenic and non-pathogenic species are found as commensals on the mucous membrane of the URT, intestinal and genital tracts, on articular surfaces and in the bovine mammary gland.
• Outside the host, the pathogenic species can survive in microenvironments, protected from sunlight, for several days.