Project description:The classical bordetellae (Bordetella pertussis, B. parapertussis, and B. bronchiseptica) are obligate aerobes that use only oxygen as their terminal electron acceptor for electron transport-coupled oxidative phosphorylation. Therefore, access to oxygen is critical for these bacteria to survive. To better understand how B. bronchiseptica changes its gene regulation when faced with different levels of oxygen, we grew liquid cultures of B. bronchiseptica RB50 in ambient air, 5% oxygen, and 2% oxygen. We also measured how the presence of 5% carbon dioxide affected gene expression in these bacteria, since they are respiratory pathogens and therefore get exposed to higher carbon dioxide levels during infection than are found in ambient air.
