Molecular Diagnostics Update for the Emerging (If Not Already Widespread) Sexually Transmitted Infection Agent Mycoplasma genitalium: Just About Ready for Prime Time

Abstract

Mycoplasma genitalium is an important and emerging agent of sexually transmitted infection in females and males, carrying the potential for postinfection genital tract sequelae. Past efforts to identify this organism on a routine basis, which were problematic due to the fastidious nature of the bacterium and its antigenic intricacies, have recently become supplemented by molecular diagnostics. A number of these assays are available commercially. This minireview describes the format and performance indices of a number of M. genitalium DNA- and RNA-based amplification assays; many of these assays have contributed to an improved clinical and epidemiologic understanding of this organism.

Keywords: Mycoplasma genitalium; PCR; molecular diagnostics; transcription-mediated amplification.

FIG 1

Frequency of Mycoplasma genitalium molecular diagnostics publications in English from 1991 to 2017 as determined by the search parameter “Mycoplasma genitalium” filtered by the possibilities of “molecular diagnostics,” “molecular testing,” “NAAT,” “nucleic acid amplification testing,” “PCR,” “LAMP,” “TMA,” or “transcription-mediated amplification.”