BipA Is Associated with Preventing Autoagglutination and Promoting Biofilm Formation in Bordetella holmesii.

ABSTRACT: Bordetella holmesii causes both invasive and respiratory diseases in humans. Although the number of cases of pertussis-like respiratory illnesses due to B. holmesii infection has increased in the last decade worldwide, little is known about the virulence factors of the organism. Here, we analyzed a B. holmesii isolate that forms large aggregates and precipitates in suspension, and subsequently demonstrated that the autoagglutinating isolate is deficient in Bordetella intermediate protein A (BipA) and that this deletion is caused by a frame-shift mutation in the bipA gene. A BipA-deficient mutant generated by homologous recombination also exhibited the autoagglutination phenotype. Moreover, the BipA mutant adhered poorly to an abiotic surface and failed to form biofilms, as did two other B.

SUBMITTER: Hiramatsu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4957798 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature