| relationship between clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease and antibodies to mycoplasma agassizii in desert tortoises from nevada. | plasma samples collected in 1990 from free-ranging desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) with and without clinical signs of upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) from las vegas valley, clark county, nevada (usa), were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) for antibodies to mycoplasma agassizii, a causative agent of urtd. the relationship between clinical signs and elisa test results was evaluated. of the 144 tortoises tested, 45 (31%) had clinical signs while 72 (50%) were seropos ... | 1997 | 9131556 |
| upper respiratory tract disease and mycoplasmosis in desert tortoises from nevada. | a population of desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) at yucca mountain (nevada, usa) was monitored during four sampling periods using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (elisa) to determine the percentage of individuals that had been exposed to mycoplasma agassizii, a causative agent of upper respiratory tract disease. respiratory tract disease has been considered a significant factor in the decline of desert tortoise populations in the mojave desert (usa). few differences between sexes in elis ... | 1997 | 9391959 |
| quantitative pcr method for detection of mycoplasma spp. dna in nasal lavage samples from the desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii). | mycoplasma agassizii and m. testudineum have been associated with upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) in the threatened desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii). because microbiological culture methods have proven difficult to employ in wild desert tortoises, our goal was to develop a sensitive and specific qpcr method for detecting and quantifying mycoplasma dna in nasal lavage fluid collected in the field. primers for 16s ribosomal rna gene sequences specific for m. agassizii and m. testudineum ... | 2011 | 21565225 |
| comparison of current methods for the detection of chronic mycoplasmal urtd in wild populations of the mojave desert tortoise (gopherus agassizii). | pathogens that cause subclinical diseases or exhibit low infection intensities are difficult to quantify in wild populations. mojave desert tortoises ( gopherus agassizii ) have been the focus of much research aimed at measuring the presence of upper respiratory disease (urtd) and urtd-associated pathogens, and techniques used to quantify disease in gopherus species have also been used for disease surveillance in other species of turtles and tortoises of conservation concern. published surveys o ... | 2017 | 27788056 |
| molecular methods to detect mycoplasma spp. and testudinid herpesvirus 2 in desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) and implications for disease management. | abstract mycoplasmas are an important cause of upper respiratory tract disease (urtd) in desert tortoises (gopherus agassizii) and have been a main focus in attempts to mitigate disease-based population declines. infection risk can vary with an animal's population of origin, making screening tests popular tools for determining infection status in individuals and populations. to provide additional methods for investigating urtd we developed quantitative pcr (qpcr) assays specific for agents causi ... | 2014 | 25121400 |