Mycoplasma detection-an obligation to scientific accuracy

Mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures is, unfortunately, a common occurrence. Because of their extremely small size the contamination is not readily apparent and the presence of mycoplasmas is confirmed by culture on agar. Certain mycoplasmas, most notably Mycoplasma hyorhinis, often do not form colonies on agar due to the presence of toxic components. Other noncultural methods have been devised to detect these "noncultivable" mycoplasmas. A brief overview of these methods will be presented and an attempt made to compare their relative efficiency in detecting microbial contamination in cell cultures.