Antimicrobial susceptibility and genetic profile of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae isolates from Brazil

Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae is the etiologic agent of porcine enzootic pneumonia, responsible for major production losses worldwide. The bacteria have a limited metabolism and need to obtain molecules from the growth environment, which causes multiple difficulties for in vitro culture. These limitations have a negative influence on the ability to carry out research for the development of the rational use of antimicrobials and vaccines. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the genetic profile and in vitro susceptibility of field isolates of M. hyopneumoniae to different antimicrobials. All 16 isolates obtained from the samples presented 100% of identity in the partial sequence of 16S rRNA gene when compared to M. hyopneumoniae . A dendrogram was created using the PCR results of the genes related to pathogenicity, and the isolates were distributed into four clusters, suggesting genetic variability among four different isolates circulating on the same farm. The minimum inhibitory concentration of the isolates was higher for the antimicrobials tylosin (< 0.001–16 mg/L) and spiramycin (< 0.001–16 mg/L) than for enrofloxacin (< 0.001–0.125 mg/L) and tiamulin (< 0.001–0.125 mg/L). Our results demonstrate the genetic variability among M. hyopneumoniae isolates from pigs of the same farm, with differences in their susceptibility to antimicrobial agents.