Comparative Proteomic Analysis of the Mycoplasma gallisepticum Nucleoid Fraction before and after Infection.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum belongs to the class Mollicutes and induces severe chronic respiratory disease in chickens. It lacks the cell wall and contains a very small genome and, accordingly, a reduced set of regulatory proteins. It is assumed that one of the regulatory mechanisms in mycoplasmas may be the dynamics of the spatial organization of the chromosome. M. gallisepticum has only two known nucleoid-associated (NAP) histone-like proteins (Hup_1 and Hup_2). To search for new potential NAP that may play a role in the infection process, we isolated nucleoid fractions from M. gallisepticum cells before and after infection of HD3 chicken erythroblast cell line and performed a comparative proteomic analysis of these fractions. We identified several potential NAP that included the components of the terminal organelle and adhesion, VlhA antigen, NADH oxidase, and PykF pyruvate kinase.

Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Mycoplasma hominis Grown on Media with Different Carbon Sources.

Culturing of Mycoplasma hominis in the presence of arginine and thymidine and subsequent comparative proteomic analysis of cells showed that, in addition to the already known arginine dihydrolase pathway of energy metabolism, M. hominis can utilize deoxyribose phosphates formed as a result of catabolism of pyrimidine nucleosides. In this case, a sharp deceleration of cell growth was observed. This allows M. hominis to occupy new niches in the host organism and survive under competitive conditions when the main sources of energy are unavailable.