| Species/Subspecies: | Bordetella pertussis | ||||||||
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| Categories: | Causes hemolysis; primarily of interest in human medicin | ||||||||
| Etymology: | Genus name: named after the Belgian microbiologist Jules Bordet (1870-1961), who first isolated B. pertussis. Species epithet: severe cough (whooping cough). | ||||||||
| Significance: | [Very important] | ||||||||
| Taxonomy: | Class Betaproteobacteria Order Burkholderiales Family Alcaligenaceae Genus Bordetella |
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| Type Strain: | 18-232 = ATCC 9797 = CCUG 30873 = NCTC 10739 | ||||||||
| Macromorphology (smell):
| Form small pinpoint white shiny colonies (appr. diameter 1 mm), which give hemolysis on blood agar. | ||||||||
| Micromorphology: | Small non motile coccoid rods (0.2-0.5 x 0.5-1 µm), which appear singly, in pair or more rarely in chains. | ||||||||
| Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||
| Metabolism: | Aerobic | ||||||||
| Catalase/Oxidase: | +/+ | ||||||||
| Other Enzymes: | Urease - | ||||||||
| Biochemical Tests: | Citrate + | ||||||||
| Fermentation of carbohydrates: | Bordetella spp. does not ferment carbohydrates. | ||||||||
| Spec. Char.: | Optimal growth temperature: 35-37°C. | ||||||||
| Disease: |
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| Virulence Factors: | Filamentous hamagglutinin which anchors the bacteria to cilia. A tracheal cytotoxin, which inhibits the movement of the cilia, is then produced. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is an endotoxin. Pertussis toxin (PT) which is an AB5-type exotoxin, helps the bacteria to colonize the respiratory tract. PT is secreted by a type IV secretion system. | ||||||||
| Genome Sequence: |
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| 16S rRNA Seq.: |
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| Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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Eight species have been described within genus Bordetella. The four species, which are described in VetBact, are very closely related. | ||||||||
| Comment: | B. pertussis is easily spread by coughing and the incubations period is 1-2 weeks. | ||||||||
| Updated: | 2023-03-22 |