Mycoplasma Detection: Protect Your Continuous Cell Cultures
April 20, 2017, at 12:00 PM ETAbstract
Mycoplasma contamination constitutes a serious concern for cell culturists as it can result in a number of deleterious effects, including the induction of chromosomal abnormalities, the disruption of DNA and RNA synthesis, and the inhibition of both cell metabolism and growth rate. In turn, this can affect assay reproducibility, compromise data validity, and lead to the misinterpretation of results. To minimize these risks, routine testing of cell cultures and reagents is recommended. In this presentation, we will discuss the most frequently used mycoplasma testing methods, and will expand on the products and services offered by ATCC that support the early detection of mycoplasma as well as the development and validation of novel test methods.
Key Points
- Mycoplasma contamination can affect the phenotypic and functional characteristics of cells in vitro, compromising the validity of generated data
- The best protection against mycoplasma is to use proper aseptic technique and to quickly identify contaminated cultures and reagents through routine testing
- Common methods of mycoplasma detection include direct culture, Hoechst DNA staining, and PCR-based testing
Presenter
Steven Budd, MS, MBA
Product Specialist, ATCC
Steven Budd is a Product Specialist that manages the cell culture reagents at ATCC. He has 6 years of experience in the product management of scientific tools. Before that, he gained 4 years of experience in biomedical research and cell culture as a research specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr. Budd has a M.S. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and an M.B.A. from North Carolina State University.
