Abstract:

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is the common pathogen causing atypical pneumonia and mainly treated by the macrolide type antibacterials. In recent years the drug resistance of Mycoplasma pneumoniae against macrolide becomes serious and the resistant rate is different throughout the world. Currently it is believed that the major mechanism of the drug resistance is relevant to genetic mutations in 23S rRNA (2 063 and 2 064). According to different P1 gene sequences of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, the prevalent genotypes can be classified into type I and type II by using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and vary with the time and place. In addition, in order to understand whether the clonal transmission exists among resistant strains, the cloning types of Mycoplasma pneumoniae can be analyzed by multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA). Therefore, enhancing the monitoring of drug resistance and prevalent genotype of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is helpful for understanding its epidemiological data and can provide evidence for the research and development of new antibacterials and vaccines.

Key words: Mycoplasma pneumoniae, drug resistance, P1 gene, multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis