Molecular typing of Mycoplasma agalactiae: Tracing European-wide genetic diversity and an endemic clonal population

Abstract

Mycoplasma agalactiae causes chronic infections in small ruminants and remains endemic in many regions of the world, despite intensive and costly eradication programs. In this study, the innate genomic plasticity of . M. agalactiae was exploited to design and assess a combination of molecular epidemiological tools to trace the pathogen in different geographic locations and to understand its emergence or re-emergence after eradication campaigns. For this purpose, two collections of . M. agalactiae isolates, representing European outbreaks or localized endemic disease in a single region of France, were subjected to RFLP (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism) analyses using two sets of DNA ..