DIAGNOSIS AND CONTROL OF MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIA OF SWINE

MYCOPLASMA PNEUMONIA OF SWINE IS A GLOBALLY PREVALENT, CHRONIC DISEASE OF LOW MORTALITY BUT HIGH MORBIDITY AND IS ECONOMICALLY DAMAGING DUE TO ITS EFFECT ON FEED EFFICIENCY. CONTROL OF THE DISEASE IS HAMPERED BY THE LACK OF EFFECTIVE AND PRACTICAL VACCINES FOR PROPHYLACTIC IMMUNIZATION, AND BYTHE LACK OF SENSITIVE DIAGNOSTIC TOOLS FOR THE SPECIFIC DETECTION OF INFECTED ANIMALS. RECENTLY, A MAJOR ANTIGENIC AND IMMUNOGENIC SURFACE COMPONENT OF THE CAUSATIVE AGENT, MYCOPLASMA HYOPNEUMONIAE, HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AND THE CORRESPONDING GENE HAS BEEN CLONED AND SHOWN TO ENCODE IMMUNOGENIC REGIONS OF THIS SURFACE PROTEIN. IT IS PROPOSEDTO (I) IDENTIFY SPECIFIC IMMUNOGENIC REGIONS OF THE PROTEIN RECOGNIZED DURING DISEASE BY ANALYZING PORTIONS OF THE PROTEIN EXPRESSED AS RECOMBINANT PRODUCTS, (II) TO TEST THE FEASIBILITY OF OVERPRODUCING RECOMBINANT PROTEINS REPRESENTING SELECTED PORTIONS OF THIS SURFACE PROTEIN, AND (III) TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF THESE ISOLATED PRODUCTS AS ANTIGENIC TARGETS FOR THE SPECIFIC DETECTION OF DISEASE AND AS PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF INDUCING AN APPROPRIATE IMMUNE RESPONSE DIRECTED TO THE SURFACE OF THE MYCOPLASMA.