The protein and antigen profiles of 11 isolates of Mycoplasma bovis were compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunoblot analysis of whole organisms. The isolates examined included the type strain PG45 and 10 other filter-cloned strains or purified isolates both from animals without clinical signs and from clinical cases of bovine mastitis, arthritis, or pneumonia. While the overall protein patterns visualized by silver staining were very similar, marked differences in the antigen banding profiles were detected by rabbit antiserum prepared against whole organisms from one of the strains analyzed. This antigenic heterogeneity was shown to be independent of the geographical origin, the type of clinical disease, and the site of isolation and was also observed among serial isolates from a single animal. Antigen profiles were further monitored throughout sequentially subcloned populations of the PG45 strain. This clonal analysis revealed a high-frequency variation in the expression levels of several prominent antigens. All of these variable antigens were defined by detergent-phase fractionation with Triton X-114 as amphiphilic integral membrane proteins. A subset of different-sized membrane proteins was identified by a monoclonal antibody raised against a PG45 subclone expressing a 63- and a 46-kDa variant antigen within that set. The selective susceptibility of these proteins to trypsin treatment of intact organisms and their ability to bind the monoclonal antibody in colony immunoblots demonstrated that they were exposed on the cell surface. In addition, their preferential recognition by serum antibodies from individual cattle with naturally induced M. bovis mastitis or arthritis confirmed that they were major immunogens of this organism. These studies establish that the apparent antigenic heterogeneity among M. bovis isolates reported here does not represent stable phenotypic strain differences generated from accumulated mutational events but reflects distinct expression patterns of diverse, highly variable membrane surface proteins.

A set of strain-and size-variant highly immunogenic membrane surface protein antigens of Mycoplasma bovis, which has been identified by a monoclonal antibody, is shown in this report to make up a family of antigenically and structurally related lipid-modified proteins, designated Vsps (variable surface proteins). By systematic analysis of several isogenic clonal lineages of the type strain PG45, three members of this family have been identified, VspA, VspB, and VspC, each of which was shown to undergo independent high-frequency changes in size as well as noncoordinate phase variation between ON and OFF expression states. The monoclonal antibody-defined epitope common to VspA, VspB, and VspC was accessible on the cell surface in most, but not all, of the clonal populations analyzed and was present on a C-terminal limit tryptic fragment of each Vsp variant that was released from the membrane surface. VspA and VspC were distinguished from VspB by their selective detection with colloidal gold and by their distinctive reaction with a polyclonal antibody against M. bovis D490. VspA, VspB, and VspC were further distinguishable from one another by their characteristic patterns of degradation at carboxypeptidase Y pause sites. While these Vsp-specific structural fingerprints with an irregular periodic spacing were constant for similarly sized variants of a defined Vsp product, they showed distinct differences among variants differing in size. This variability included gain or loss of individual bands within distinct subsets of bands, as well as shifts of the entire banding patterns upor downwards, indicating that insertions or deletions underlying Vsp size variation can occur at various locations either within the C-terminal domain or within other regions of these proteins. This was similarly confirmed by comparative epitope mapping analysis of tryptic cleavage products generated from different Vsp size variants. The Vsp family of M. bovis described in this study represents a newly discovered system of surface antigenic variation in mycoplasmas displaying features which closely resemble but are also different from the characteristics reported for the Vlp (variable lipoprotein) system of M. hyorhinis. The isogenic lineages established here provide key populations for subsequent analysis of corresponding genes to further elucidate Vsp structure and variation, which may have important relevance for a better understanding of the pathogenicity of this agent.

For the first time a mycoplasma has been isolated from fish. The organism, designated strain 163K, was isolated on modified Hayflick medium under aerobic conditions at 25 degrees C from the gills of a tench (Tinca tinca L.). It showed the characteristic features of mycoplasmas. In addition it was flask-shaped with a distinct head-like structure and was able to attach to inert surfaces and living cells. The most interesting property of the organism was its ability to show fast gliding motion. Movement was only in the direction of the head-like structure and was not interrupted by resting periods.

We have recently reported that three distinct size- and phase-variable surface lipoproteins (Vsps) of the bovine pathogen Mycoplasma bovis possess a common epitope recognized by monoclonal antibody 1E5. In the present study, we show that this epitope is also present on a size-variant protein (PvpA) of the avian pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Application of monoclonal antibody 1E5 in Western immunoblot analysis of Triton X-114 phase-fractionated proteins and in colony immunoblots, as well as in trypsin and carboxypeptidase digestion experiments, has demonstrated that (i) PvpA is an integral membrane protein with a free C terminus, (ii) the shared epitope is surface exposed, and (iii) PvpA is subjected to high-frequency phase variation in expression. By using serum antibodies from M. gallisepticum-infected chickens, we were able to demonstrate the immunogenic nature of PvpA and identify three additional highly immunogenic Triton X-114 phase proteins (p67, p72, and p75) also undergoing high-frequency phase variation spontaneously and independently. Metabolic labeling experiments with [14C]palmitate and [14C]oleate revealed that PvpA, in contrast to p67, p72, and p75, is not lipid modified. Southern blot hybridization with restriction fragments carrying the pvpA gene of M. gallisepticum or the vspA gene of M. bovis against digested genomic DNA of the two Mycoplasma species indicated the absence of genetic relatedness between the pvpA and vspA genes. The apparent complexity of the antigenic variation phenomenon in M. gallisepticum is discussed.

The gliding movements of Mycoplasma sp. nov. strain 163K cells were characterized by photomicrographic and microcinematographic studies. The capability of gliding proved to be a very stable property of strain 163K.Cells were continuously moving, without interruption by resting periods, on glass as well as on plastic surfaces covered with liquid medium. Gliding cells always moved in the direction of their headlike structure; their course did not indicate any preference for a certain direction. Under appropriate growth conditions, cells showed linear and circular movements. Under inadequate conditions, cells glided in narrow circles or entered into zigzag trembling and tumbling movements. Organisms glided as single cells, in pairs, and in multicellular configurations. Movement patterns and gliding velocity were significantly affected by the cultivation and preparation time, the medium viscosity, and the storage and observation temperature. The number of passages on artificial media and the composition of the media used did not have a striking influence on gliding motility, but movements were effectively inhibited by homologous antiserum. The data obtained suggest that at least some of the structures associated with gliding are heat sensitive and located on the cell surface, that the gliding mechanism requires an intact energy metabolism, and, finally, that gliding motility is an extremely stable genetic property of Mycoplasma sp. nov. strain 163K.Gliding motility has been observed in several groups of microorganisms (reviewed in references 6, 10, and 16), comprising the phototrophic cyanobacteria and related apochlorotic organisms, the facultatively phototrophic Chloroflexaceae, the myxobacteria, the Cytophaga-like bacteria, and the mycoplasmas.Five species of mycoplasmas are known to show gliding motility: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma pulmonis, Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma genitalium, and the recently discovered new species Mycoplasma sp. nov. strain 163K, which has been isolated from the gills of a freshwater fish (11). The gliding movements of M. pneumoniae have been well characterized (2-9, 15), and several investigations exist on the motility of M. pulmonis (1,9,13,14). There are also experimental data on the gliding movements of M. gallisepticum (3, 5; T. Erdmann, M.D. thesis, Johannes Gutenberg Universitat, Mainz, Federal Republic of Germany, 1976) and M. genitalium (17).In a previous communication we briefly reported on the motile behavior of Mycoplasma sp. nov. strain 163K (11). The present paper describes the gliding movements of this mycoplasma in more detail by using photomicrographic and microcinematographic techniques.MATERUILS AND METHODS Mycoplasma. Mycoplasma sp. nov. strain 163K has been isolated from the gills of a tench (Tinca tinca L.) on modified Hayflick medium under aerobic conditions at 25°C (11). This strain shows the characteristic features of mycoplasmas. In addition, it is flask shaped with a distinct headlike structure and is able to attach to inert surfaces and living c...