The PCR primer sets used in McCT are directed to the highly conserved 16S rRNA coding region in the Mycoplasma genome. This allows for amplification of all Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species usually encountered as contaminants in cell cultures. Moreover, the McCT assay determines the genotype of Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species by specific hybridisation, such as M. arginini, M. fermentans, M. orale, M. hyorhinis, M. hominis, M. salivarium, M. synoviae, M. pirum, M. gallisepticum, M. pneumoniae, M. yeatsii, and Acholeplasma laidlawii.
Mycoplasma specification enables the identification of contamination sources:
