[Spontaneous infection of cell lines with mycoplasmas and their detection using the fluorescence method]

The continual cellular lines of bovine kidneys MDBK and AUBEK and of monkey kidneys VERO were infected spontaneously in the course of long-range cultivation by the mycoplasmas M. arginini and A. laidlawii. The mycoplasmic infection reduced significantly the growth activity of the cells and influenced negatively their morphology. The method of an indirect proof of mycoplasmas by bisbenzimid Hoechst suited well to demonstrate the infection; it had been modified to a simple and rapid test. The starting infection could be demonstrated already at the time when the amount of infected cells in the culture was relatively low.