Development of a polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Mycoplasma felis in domestic cats

Mycoplasma felis is associated with conjunctivitis and respiratory disease in domestic cats. Currently no rapid diagnostic test is available for the detection of M. felis in clinical samples that does not rely on prior cultivation of the organism. The objective of this study was to determine whether a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based upon the 16S/23S rRNA intergenic spacer sequence is suitable for the identification of M. felis directly in feline clinical samples. The high conservation between the 16S/23S rRNA intergenic spacers (IGS) of differing isolates of M. felis was established by sequence analysis and a PCR was developed to this region by comparison to IGS of other mycoplasmas. The PCR was found to be highly specific for M. felis and further PCR analysis on clinical samples showed the PCR to be highly sensitive and more rapid than the other methods of identification currently available.