This family consists of several haemagglutinin sequences from Mycoplasma synoviae and Mycoplasma gallisepticum. The major plasma membrane proteins, pMGAs, of Mycoplasma gallisepticum are cell adhesin (hemagglutinin) molecules. It has been shown that the genetic determinants that code for the haemagglutinins are organised into a large family of genes and that only one of these genes is predominately expressed in any given strain [1,2,3].

1: A protein (M9) associated with monoclonal antibody-mediated agglutination of Mycoplasma gallisepticum is a member of the pMGA family. Liu L, Payne DM, van Santen VL, Dybvig K, Panangala VS; Infect Immun 1998;66:5570-5575. PMID:9784576

2: The organisation of the multigene family which encodes the major cell surface protein, pMGA, of Mycoplasma gallisepticum. Markham PF, Glew MD, Sykes JE, Bowden TR, Pollocks TD, Browning GF, Whithear KG, Walker ID; FEBS Lett 1994;352:347-352. PMID:7925999

3: A novel mechanism for control of antigenic variation in the haemagglutinin gene family of mycoplasma synoviae. Noormohammadi AH, Markham PF, Kanci A, Whithear KG, Browning GF; Mol Microbiol 2000;35:911-923. PMID:10692167