Mycoplasma: growth precipitation as a serodiagnostic method

Abstract

A serological test is described which is designated the growth precipitation test and is based on the release of diffusible compounds from mycoplasma strains. During growth of mycoplasmas on solid substrates, precipitation lines are formed with antibodies from homologous antisera independent of heat-labile serum factors. The application of the test as a serodiagnostic tool was investigated by performing a complete serological cross-test with 10 mycoplasma strains. The test was compared with the growth inhibition test, the complement fixation test, and the indirect hemagglutination test. It is demonstrated that the growth precipitation test has a good degree of specificity. The species and subspecies used here showed cross-reactions between serologically closely related strains, but these heterologous reactions occurred only after longer incubation than the homologous reactions.