Table 5.

Possible “Core Set” of Motility Genes




Conservation pattern
Gene
Function
Mycoplasma penetrans
Ureaplasma parvum
Mycoplasma mycoides
Mesoplasma florum
MMOB0420 Unspecified transport or permease protein ✓ ✓
MMOB0430 Unspecified transport or permease protein ✓ ✓
MMOB1310 Expressed protein of unknown function ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB1700 Conserved expressed protein of unknown function, possibly protein prenyltransferase ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB1730 Predicted signaling protein consisting of a modified GGDEF domain and a DHH domain (mgpA homolog) ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB1910 Conserved expressed protein of unknown function ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB3070 Expressed protein of unknown function ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB3080 Expressed protein of unknown function ✓ ✓
sua5 (MMOB3710) Putative translation factor ✓ ✓
mraZ (MMOB3790) Expressed protein of unknown function ✓ ✓ ✓
MMOB4550 Expressed protein of unknown function ✓
thiJ (MMOB5890)
Putative intracellular protease/amidase and/or 4-methyl-5(b-hydroxyethyl)-thiazole monophosphate biosynthesis protein
✓

✓
✓

[i] Each of the genes listed has an ortholog in all of the motile mycoplasmas, but one or more is missing in each of the immotile mycoplasmas.