Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, evolved from a distinct, human-associated lineage of B. bronchiseptica.

ABSTRACT: Bordetella pertussis, B. bronchiseptica, B. parapertussis(hu), and B. parapertussis(ov) are closely related respiratory pathogens that infect mammalian species. B. pertussis and B. parapertussis(hu) are exclusively human pathogens and cause whooping cough, or pertussis, a disease that has resurged despite vaccination. Although it most often infects animals, infrequently B. bronchiseptica is isolated from humans, and these infections are thought to be zoonotic. B. pertussis and B. parapertussis(hu) are assumed to have evolved from a B. bronchiseptica-like ancestor independently. To determine the phylogenetic relationships among these species, housekeeping and virulence genes were sequenced, comparative genomic hybridizations were performed using DNA microarrays, and the distribution of inse

SUBMITTER: Diavatopoulos DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1323478 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature