Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2017) 6(6): 2155-2162 2155 Original Research Article https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2017.606.254 Molecular Detection of Avian Mycoplasmas in Poultry Affected with Respiratory Infections in Haryana (India) Piyush Tomar 1* , Y. Singh 1 , N.K. Mahajan 1 , Naresh Jindal 1 and Mahavir Singh 2 1 Department of Veterinary Public Health and Epidemiology, College of Veterinary Sciences Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS), Hisar, India 2 College Central Laboratory, College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LUVAS), Hisar, India *Corresponding author ABSTRACT Introduction Haryana is a small state of India but it is the 5 th largest in poultry population (Livestock census, 2012). There are many poultry pathogens which are responsible for huge economic losses to poultry industry through respiratory infections such as Mycoplasma, E. coli, Newcastle disease virus, Infectious bronchitis virus. The mycoplasmas do not have cell wall and are smallest self-replicating prokaryotes. There are mainly two Mycoplasma species which are pathogenic in nature viz. M. gallisepticum (MG) and M. synoviae (MS). In chickens M. gallisepticum causes Chronic Respiratory Disease and usually show loss of appetite, dullness, depression, tendency to huddle together, poor growth, emaciation, respiratory rales, tracheitis, air sacculitis, coughing, sneezing, International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 6 (2017) pp. 2155-2162 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) are the most economically significant Mycoplasma pathogen of poultry. The objective of this study was molecular detection of avian Mycoplasmas in poultry affected with respiratory infections in Haryana (India). In this study 92 pooled tissue samples including trachea, lungs and air sacs were collected from 92 different poultry flocks affected with respiratory infections and were undergone mycoplasmological examination by Polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Four sets of primers including a universal primer (16S rRNA) for genus Mycoplasma, two primers for M. gallisepticum (16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S rRNA IGSR) and one for M. synoviae (16S rRNA gene) were employed for amplification of genes of all the 92 DNA samples extracted from tissue samples. Direct detection of avian Mycoplasma in tissue specimen by PCR using 16S rRNA universal primers for genus Mycoplasma followed by MG and MS specific PCR revealed, 34/92(36.9%) Mycoplasma, 25/92(27%) MG and 2/92 (2.1%) MS. This study demonstrated the high prevalence of MG infection in commercial Broilers farms of Haryana. Therefore, the high prevalence and wide distribution of MG infection warrants immediate attention and preventive strategies to minimize economic impact of MG infection. The present study suggests that the PCR assays performed for MG and MS provide a simple, quick and precise tool to specifically detect these organisms from the field samples which are always found to be complicated by other pathogens. Keywords Mycoplasma gallisepticum, Mycoplasma synoviae, PCR. Accepted: 26 May 2017 Available Online: 10 June 2017 Article Info