Bordetella pertussis, the Causative Agent of Whooping Cough, Evolved from a Distinct, Human-Associated Lineage of B. bronchiseptica

PLoS Pathogens

Leo M Schouls¹  Frits R Mooi¹  Craig A Cummings²  David A Relman³  Dimitri A Diavatopoulos³  Mary M Brinig⁴ 

[1] Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America;Eijkman Winkler Institute, University Medical Center, Utrecht, Netherlands;Laboratory for Vaccine-Preventable Diseases, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, Netherlands;VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California, United States of America

关键词: Bordetella pertussis;    Genetic loci;    DNA sequence analysis;    Pertussis;    Phylogenetic analysis;    Sequence analysis;    Comparative genomics;    Genome complexity;   

DOI  :  10.1371/journal.ppat.0010045

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Public Library of Science

【 摘 要 】

Bordetella pertussis, B. bronchiseptica, B. parapertussishu, and B. parapertussisov are closely related respiratory pathogens that infect mammalian species. B. pertussis and B. parapertussishu 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. parapertussishu 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 insertion sequence elements was determined, using a collection of 132 strains. This multifaceted approach distinguished four complexes, representing B. pertussis, B. parapertussishu, and two distinct B. bronchiseptica subpopulations, designated complexes I and IV. Of the two B. bronchiseptica complexes, complex IV was more closely related to B. pertussis. Of interest, while only 32% of the complex I strains were isolated from humans, 80% of the complex IV strains were human isolates. Comparative genomic hybridization analysis identified the absence of the pertussis toxin locus and dermonecrotic toxin gene, as well as a polymorphic lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis locus, as associated with adaptation of complex IV strains to the human host. Lipopolysaccharide structural diversity among these strains was confirmed by gel electrophoresis. Thus, complex IV strains may comprise a human-associated lineage of B. bronchiseptica from which B. pertussis evolved. These findings will facilitate the study of pathogen host-adaptation. Our results shed light on the origins of the disease pertussis and suggest that the association of B. pertussis with humans may be more ancient than previously assumed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY