SHORT COMMUNICATIONS Mycoplasma detection and isolation from one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) Lidia E. Mederos-Iriarte & José B. Poveda & Carlos G. Poveda & Orestes M. Vega-Orellana & Carlos Gutiérrez & Juan A. Corbera & Ana S. Ramírez Accepted: 6 July 2014 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 Abstract In scientific literature, a small amount of informa- tion is found concerning mycoplasmosis in camel species. Mycoplasma (M.) arginini, Acholeplasma (A.) laidlawii, and Acholeplasma oculi have been reported to be isolated from these host species. Serologically positive results have been reported for Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides SC type, Mycoplasma capricolum subsp. capripneumoniae, and M. mycoides subsp. capri. The aims of this study were to detect, isolate, and identify mycoplasmas from camels (Camelus dromedarius). Initially, saliva and ear smears plus conjunctival and vaginal secretions were taken from five female animals, but only conjunctival secretions in three male animals, all belonging to the same farm. An unknown myco- plasma was isolated from one of the vagina samples. Additionally, another unknown and uncultured mycoplasma was detected with molecular biology in the same sample. In the second stage, 23 vaginal secretions were taken from the same farm plus another secretion from a different one. Ten isolates of the same unknown and previously isolated myco- plasma were detected, nine of them recovered from the vagina of female camels. Some mycoplasmas have been related to reproductive disorders; however, there is no evidence that the isolated mycoplasmas are related to such disorders. Keywords Mollicutes . Mycoplasma . Camel . Camelus dromedarius . Dromedary Introduction The Canarian Archipelago (Spain) has approximately 2,000 camels (Camelus dromedarius), which are used as a tourist attraction. This is the largest camel population in Europe (Gutiérrez et al. 2005). Although many advances have been reported in camel medicine during the last two decades, a small amount of information is found in scientific literature concerning mycoplasma (Cl/Mollicutes) and mycoplasmosis in camels. Mollicutes comprise a group of wall-less prokaryotes and are among the smallest self-replicating organisms (Brown et al. 2010). To the authors’ knowledge, there are only two scientific papers related to the isolation of mycoplasmas in camels. Elfaki et al. (2002) isolated Mycoplasma arginini from pneumonic lesions, while Refai (mentioned in Wernery and Kaaden (1995)) recovered Acholeplasma (A.) laidlawii , Acholeplasma oculi , and M. arginini all from healthy animals. Another study unsuccessfully tried to implicate the presence of mycoplasmas with arthritic joints in camels (Bani Ismail et al. 2007). Serology could detect previous exposure to mycoplasmas. Although not confirmed, serological testing involves the fol- lowing mycoplasma diseases which may be present in camels: contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (Egwu and Aliyu 1997), contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (mentioned in Wernery and Kaaden (1995)), and respiratory diseases caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. capri (Ur-Rahman et al. 2006). This study was undertaken in order to detect, isolate, and identify mollicutes from camels. Material and methods Sample Samples were taken in two stages. Initially, eight apparently healthy camels (C. dromedarius) were sampled from a farm L. E. Mederos-Iriarte : J. B. Poveda : C. G. Poveda : O. M. Vega-Orellana : A. S. Ramírez (*) Unidad de Epidemiología y Medicina Preventiva, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35416 Las Palmas, Spain e-mail: aramirez@dpat.ulpgc.es C. Gutiérrez : J. A. Corbera Departamento de Patología Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Trasmontaña s/n, Arucas, 35416 Las Palmas, Spain Trop Anim Health Prod DOI 10.1007/s11250-014-0639-9