OCCURRENCE OF Mollicutes IN MARINE MAMMALS FROM CHUBUT COASTS, ARGENTINA

FIORITO, C; SEITZ, J; LOMBARDO, DM; MACIÓ, M; TAMIOZZO, P

Congreso; II Congreso de Microbiología Veterinaria; 2023

Some Mycoplasma and Ureaplasma species had been often associated with respiratory disease signs, stranding, mass mortality events and other clinical signs in marine mammals. Most of these studies had been conducted in the north hemisphere, and little is known about the occurrence of these agents in the south hemisphere in general, and in the Argentinian coasts in particular. Thus, the objective of this study was to detect the occurrence of Mollicutes in marine mammals using molecular-based techniques. A retrospective study was carried out in 47 samples (44 lungs and 3 tracheas) from 44 marine mammals stranded between 2013 and 2018 along Chubut coast including 4 southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), 2 Burmeister´s Porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis), 1 Minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), 31 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and 6 South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens). DNA from all samples was extracted using a commercial kit. For Mollicutes detection, a nested-PCR targeting the intergenic 16S-23S rRNA spacer (ITS) region were performed under the conditions reported by the authors. Seven out of 47 samples (14,89%) rendered positive results, with different sized bands ranging from 500 to 1000 bp approximately, as follows: lungs from 2 southern right whales, lungs from 2 common dolphins, tracheas from 2 South American sea lions, lung from 1 Burmeister´s Porpoise. To our knowledge this is the first report of Mollicutes species in marine mammals from Argentina. Further studies are required to investigate the species of mycoplasmas and their role in marine mammal disease.