A new method to estimate Mycoplasma gallisepticum bacterial concentration in culture

Authors: Leigh, Spencer; Evans, Jeffrey; Robinson, Kelsy

Submitted to: Applied Microbiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/12/2026
Publication Date: 5/18/2026
Citation: Leigh, S.A., Evans, J.D., Robinson, K. 2026. A new method to estimate Mycoplasma gallisepticum bacterial concentration in culture. Applied Microbiology. 6(5), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol6050064.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/applmicrobiol6050064

Interpretive Summary: Accurate and rapid quantitation of mycoplasma cells in culture is critical to performing reproducible experiments. However, current techniques for estimating the quantity of mycoplasma cells in culture have limited effectiveness compared to other bacteria. Therefore, a new fast method of estimating mycoplasma concentration of cultures was developed that solubilizes the mycoplasma cells and measures the amount of genomic DNA present. This method has improved accuracy and dynamic range compared to previously used methods. This new method will improve the reproducibility of mycoplasma experiments involving live culture and the results of those experiments will provide better data for use in measuring the effects of mycoplasma infection and the effectiveness of mycoplasma vaccines.

Technical Abstract: The ability to rapidly estimate bacterial culture concentrations is an important research tools, often performed by measuring the optical density of the culture. However, this method is of limited use with mycoplasma cultures due. Therefore, a new method was developed based on the fluorescent measurement of the genomic DNA.