A glimpse on Mycoplasma species circulating in wild and captive bird communities in Egypt: prevalence and phylogenetic analyses

TL;DR

This study examines the prevalence of Mycoplasma in wild and captive birds in Egypt, finding a 15.2% infection rate and identifying specific species like M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into the prevalence and genetic diversity of Mycoplasma in Egyptian bird populations.

Findings

Mycoplasma spp. were detected in 15.2% of 250 birds, with higher prevalence in captive birds.

M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae were identified in two bird orders, showing strong genetic similarity to reference strains.

Phylogenetic analysis revealed high variability among Mycoplasma strains in the studied population.

Abstract

Wild and captive birds are well known as possible carriers of numerous pathogens, and they have recently received scientific attention concerning human health. Mycoplasma spp. Infections have been detected in a variety of wild and captive bird species worldwide. The present work aimed to study the prevalence of Mycoplasma spp. in wild and captive birds in Egypt; a total of 250 birds were examined, representing 15 species (11 orders) of wild birds. The collected samples include 100 tracheal swabs from wild birds and 150 from captive birds. Mycoplasmas were detected using microbiological culture methods. PCR amplification of the 16S rRNA gene was performed for genus-specific identification of mycoplasmas, using universal primers for genus Mycoplasma. Selected PCR products were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae were also detected by specific PCRs targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Regarding the obtained result, 38/250 positive samples were obtained for the isolation of Mycoplasma spp., with a prevalence of 15.2%. Moreover, confirmation with PCR tests using GPO primers and DNA extracted from the isolates resulted in 22/250 (8.8%) positive samples, which came from birds that belonged to six orders, where the highest occurrence was in Galliformes, followed by Strigiformes, Columbiformes, Accipitriformes, Bucerotiformes, and Ciconiiformes, respectively. Four tested birds were positive for Mycoplasma gallisepticum (M. gallisepticum), and one was positive for Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae). M. gallisepticum and M. synoviae were only detected in two orders (Accipitriformes and Galliformes). The phylogenetic analysis revealed a high variability of Mycoplasma spp. and strong similarities between the studied Egyptian strains and other reference strains available in GenBank.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11259-025-10844-3.

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