Molecular Detection and Characterization of Mycoplasma spp. in Marine Mammals, Brazil

M arine mammals are a diverse polyphyletic group of animals that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to an aquatic lifestyle and depend on marine ecosystems (1).The group includes members of the order Carnivora, such as pinnipeds, sea otters (Enhydra lutris), marine otters (Lontra felina), and polar bears (Ursus maritimus); order Sirenia, which includes manatees and dugongs (Dugong dugon); and the infraorder Cetacea, which comprises dolphins, whales, and porpoises (1,2).Those diverse species are considered ecosystem sentinels (3,4).The coast of Brazil sustains a high diversity of marine mammals, including 44 cetacean, 8 pinniped, and 1 sirenian species (5,6), at least 8 of which are classified into some level of extinction risk (7,8).Anthropogenic threats, such as pollution, climate change, and bycatch, severely effect marine mammal populations; however, infectious diseases also play a role (9).Information on marine mammal diseases in Brazil is limited, particularly in sirenians, and usually focuses on viral infections (10)(11)(12)(13)(14).Mycoplasmas are a group of pleomorphic cell wall-deficient bacteria of the class Mollicutes that are considered the smallest self-replicant prokaryotes (15).Mycoplasmas have been detected in several mammal species, including humans (16-19).Mycoplasma spp.are divided into 2 distinct groups on the basis of infection tropism: nonhemotropic mycoplasmas