The transcriptome and proteome of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides strain Gladysdale during in vitro growth. The transcriptome and proteome of Mycoplasma mycoides subspecies mycoides strain Gladysdale during in vitro growth

Mycoplasma mycoides ssp. mycoides (Mmm) belongs to the Mycoplasma mycoides cluster, which affect ruminants. The disease caused by Mmm is known as contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), a notifiable disease by the OIE, which is prevalent in most Sub Saharan African countries. CBPP is economically important mainly due to production loss and trade restriction by the OIE. In order to prevent and control the disease, the molecular characteristics of Mmm should be well understood. Therefore the aim of our study was to elucidate the transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of Mmm strain Gladysdale during in vitro growth. Strand specific deep RNA sequencing and mass spectrometric analysis of Mmm strain Gladysdale were conducted during two phases of growth, early exponential and stationary growth phases. The resulting data were analyzed using different bioinformatics tools. We found out in this study that, more than 90 % of the genes were expressed at mRNA level and 34 genes were differentially expressed during logarithmic and stationary growth phases. Moreover, we were able to determine 5’ and 3’ UTRs, transcriptional start sites, multigene operons and non-coding RNAs for Mmm strain Gladysdale. At a protein level, 50% of the translated proteins were detected using LC-MS/MS. The putative functions of these proteins is mainly carbohydrate metabolism, however, there are also proteins, predicted to be involved in amino sugar and starch metabolism, glycolysis, ascorbate and aldarate metabolism, etc. Predicted localizations of these proteins are the cytosol or membrane and some secreted proteins were also identified. Based on our result, the 34 differentially expressed genes could be given due emphasis for future studies. We believe that, a study like this will enable the better understanding of the molecular mechanisms of Mmm pathogenicity.