Insertion sequence profiling of UK Mycoplasma bovis field isolates

The presence and distribution of insertion sequences ISMbov2 and ISMbov3 within Mycoplasma bovis were investigated. Analysis was carried out by Southern blotting using specific probes of 221 bp and 185 bp, to detect ISMbov2 and ISMbov3, respectively, amplified from the homologous sequences ISMmy1 and IS1634 within Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides small colony type. We present data obtained from 49 field isolates of M. bovis, originating from pneumonic lungs, collected within the United Kingdom between 1996 and 2002. Hybridisation profiles show considerable variation between strains. ISMbov2 sequences are present between 2 and 17 copies while there are between 3 and 14 copies of the IS1634 homologue ISMbov3. These data also provide support for previous analysis by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP).