Bovine mycoplasmas: cultural and biochemical studies. I

A survey is given of presently known mycoplasmas of bovine source. Media and methods of cultivation are described. Cholesterol dependence, being the basis of division of Mycoplasmatales into Mycoplasmataceae and Acholeplasmataceae, was examined directly and also indirectly employing sensitivity tests to digitonin and sodium polyanethole sulphonate (SPS). All by now recognized species were found to be correctly classified in Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma, respectively. Of the unnamed “serogroups” 2 should be classified in the latter genus, while 6 serogroups were members of the genus Mycoplasma. Correlation was found between the digitonin test and the direct determination of cholesterol requirement, whereas this was not the case with the SPS test.