Genomic features of Bordetella parapertussis clades with distinct host species specificity

Mary M Brinig,Mark R Ackermann,Karen B Register,David A Relman

doi:10.1186/gb-2006-7-9-r81

Mary M Brinig, Mark R Ackermann + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/gb-2006-7-9-r81

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Abstract

Genomic analysis of human and ovine Bordetella parapertussis strains reveals differences distinguishing the host-restricted subgroups.

Highlights

The respiratory pathogen Bordetella parapertussis is a valuable model in which to study the complex phenotype of host specificity because of its unique two-species host range
Detection of novel sequences and a large island of foreign DNA in ovine B. parapertussis most previously available genomic information about B. parapertussis has been based on data from the sequenced human strain
In order to discover as yet unrecognized genes and sequences that might be unique to ovine strains, we searched for novel sequences in an ovine strain of B. parapertussis (Bpp5) using suppression subtractive hybridization against a pool of the three sequenced Bordetella genomes

Summary

Introduction

The respiratory pathogen Bordetella parapertussis is a valuable model in which to study the complex phenotype of host specificity because of its unique two-species host range. Later estimates of the percentage of Bordetella-associated cases of cough caused by B. parapertussis range from about 5% to 30% [3,4,5,6], depending on case definition and vaccination coverage This species was considered an obligate human pathogen until 1987, when B. parapertussislike organisms were found in normal and pneumonic lamb lungs [7,8]. B. parapertussis strains from humans appear to be genetically distinct from ovine strains, and while human strains are highly clonal, ovine strains appear more heterogeneous by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis [9], insertion element typing [10], and PCR-based random amplified polymorphic DNA profiles [11] This species has not been isolated from any other source and is thought to be composed of two subgroups, one of which infects only humans and the other of which infects only sheep

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