title: Plasticity of fimbrial genotype and serotype within populations of Bordetella pertussis: analysis by paired flow cytometry and genome sequencing.
abstract: The fimbriae of Bordetella pertussis are required for colonization of the human respiratory tract. Two serologically distinct fimbrial subunits, Fim2 and Fim3, considered important vaccine components for many years, are included in the Sanofi Pasteur 5-component acellular pertussis vaccine, and the World Health Organization recommends the inclusion of strains expressing both fimbrial serotypes in whole-cell pertussis vaccines. Each of the fimbrial major subunit genes, fim2, fim3, and fimX, has a promoter poly(C) tract upstream of its -10 box. Such monotonic DNA elements are susceptible to changes in length via slipped-strand mispairing in vitro and in vivo, which potentially causes on/off switching of genes at every cell division. Here, we have described intra-culture variability in poly(C) tract lengths and the resulting fimbrial phenotypes in 22 recent UK B. pertussis isolates. Owing to the highly plastic nature of fimbrial promoters, we used the same cultures for both genome sequencing and flow cytometry. Individual cultures of B. pertussis contained multiple fimbrial serotypes and multiple different fimbrial promoter poly(C) tract lengths, which supports earlier serological evidence that B. pertussis expresses both serotypes during infection.
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG, UK.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Vaughan
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.affiliation: Respiratory and Vaccine Preventable Bacteria Reference Unit, Public Health England - Microbiology Reference Services, Colindale, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.|Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
authors.forename: Katie
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sealey
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.affiliation: Respiratory and Vaccine Preventable Bacteria Reference Unit, Public Health England - Microbiology Reference Services, Colindale, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ, UK.
authors.forename: Norman K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Fry
authors.affiliation: Public Health England, Porton Down, Salisbury SP4 0JG, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gorringe
mesh_terms: D001886:Bordetella pertussis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D065288:Serogroup; D006113:United Kingdom; D014917:Whooping Cough / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial