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Infection and Immunity, October 2000, p. 6027-6033, Vol. 68, No. 10
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

pMGA Phenotypic Variation in Mycoplasma gallisepticum Occurs In Vivo and Is Mediated by Trinucleotide Repeat Length Variation

M. D. Glew,dagger Glenn F. Browning, Philip F. Markham, and Ian D. Walker*

Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3052

Received 9 December 1999/Returned for modification 16 March 2000/Accepted 5 June 2000

Chickens were infected with a pathogenic strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum, and the expression of pMGA, the major surface protein, was inferred by examination of colonies from ex vivo cells. Within 2 days postinfection, 40% of cells had ceased the expression of the original pMGA surface protein (pMGA1.1), and by day 6, the majority of recovered cells were in this category. The switch in pMGA phenotype which had occurred in vivo was reversible, since most colonies produced from ex vivo progenitors exhibited frequent pMGA1.1+ sectors. After prolonged in vivo habitation, increasing proportions of recovered cells gave rise to variant pMGA colonies which had switched from the expression of pMGA1.1 to another gene, pMGA1.2, concomitant with the acquisition of a (GAA)12 motif 5' to its promoter. Collectively, the results suggest that changes in M. gallisepticum pMGA gene expression in vivo are normal, common, and possibly obligate events for successful colonization of the host. Surprisingly, the initial cessation of pMGA1.1 expression occurred in the absence of detectable pMGA antibodies and seemed to precede the adaptive immune response.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Veterinary Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 3052. Phone: 61 3 8344 7352. Fax: 61 3 8344 7374. E-mail: i.walker{at}vet.unimelb.edu.au.

dagger Present address: Institute of Bacteriology and Animal Hygiene, Vienna University of Veterinary Science, A-1210, Vienna, Austria.

Infection and Immunity, October 2000, p. 6027-6033, Vol. 68, No. 10
0019-9567/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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