Assessing mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures by qPCR using a set of universal primer pairs targeting a 1.5 kb fragment of 16S rRNA genes.

ABSTRACT: Mycoplasmas (a generic name for Mollicutes) are a predominant bacterial contaminant of cell culture and cell derived products including viruses. This prokaryote class is characterized by very small size and lack of a cell wall. Consequently, mycoplasmas escape ultrafiltration and visualization under routine microscopic examination, hence the ease with which cells in culture can be contaminated, with routinely more than 10% of cell lines being contaminated. Mycoplasma are a formidable threat both in fundamental research by perverting a whole range of cell properties and functions and in the pharmacological use of cells and cell derived products. Although many methods have been developed, there is still a need for a sensitive, universal assay. Here is reported the development and validation

SUBMITTER: Jean A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5321415 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature