Biofilm: a platform for the evaluation of antimicrobial treatments and prevention against Mycoplasma bovis infection

Abstract

Mycoplasma bovis is an important pathogen in large ruminants that causes various clinical pathologies with great economic impact. Though mycoplasmas were thought to have gone reductive evolution that led to the loss of genetic materials leading to the marked absence of cell wall and canonical virulence factors, adaptation made by some M. bovis isolates include production of biofilms to survive, evade host immune response, persists in a biotic environment and may mount related responses that render chemotherapy ineffective. In this review, topics on biofilms commonly produced by M. bovis isolates were discussed to view its pathogenicity. Reports that describe the involvement of variable surface antigensin biofilm production of M. bovis are also presented. This information invites interest on biofilms anchored on studies where it can be developed to be utilized as platforms for the evaluation of antimicrobial treatments and for the identification of a preventive and control strategy against Mycoplasma bovis infection.