Abstract
A total of 850 birds belonging to 40 species within 13 orders were examined for mycoplasmas during 1968 through 1977. In addition, 2, 848 dead-in-shell chicks, 275 pathological specimens and 285 normal semen samples of chickens were subjected to the study. It was revealed that birds belonging to either Galliformes or Columbiformes harbored mycoplasmas in high incidence. Serological identification of 440 isolates proved that both Mycoplasma gallisepticum and M. synoviae parasitized among chickens, with an exception of sparrows. Host range of M. gallinarum was the widest of all species or serogroups of avian mycoplasmas. M. iners and serogroups C, D, and I-J-K-N-Q-R were detected from various tissues and sperm samples of domesticated and wild birds belonging to Galliformes. Both M. columbinum and M. columborale were detected only from pigeons, which were considered as the common hosts for these two species of mycoplasmas.
