Survival of mycoplasmas inoculated in horse sera

Although it is known that commercialized bovine serum is sometimes contaminated with mycoplasmas, it is not clear whether mycoplasmas can survive in horse serum. In this study, as a preliminary examination of the survival of mycoplasmas inoculated in horse sera, the survivability of 8 strains of 7 mycoplasmas was tested. The results obtained reveal that two strains of M. bovis and M. gallisepticum were found to survive in non-heated and inactivated sera for 94 to 330 days at 30 or 37 degrees C. Three strains of M. bovirhinis, M. gateae and A. laidlawii lived for 7 to 330 days depending upon the temperature maintained or pH of the serum. Strains of M. bovigenitalium and U. diversum survived for a maximum of 8 days in all horse sera tested. Therefore, mycoplasmas are generally likely to survive for a long period in horse serum although the survival period depends on the species, strain and temperature.