Bordetella pertussis

Bordetella pertussis
Scientific classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Pseudomonadota
Class: Betaproteobacteria
Order: Burkholderiales
Family: Alcaligenaceae
Genus: Bordetella
Species:
B. pertussis
Binomial name
Bordetella pertussis
(Bergey et al. 1923) Moreno-López 1952

Bordetella pertussis is a Gram-negative, aerobic, pathogenic, encapsulated coccobacillus bacterium of the genus Bordetella, and the causative agent of pertussis or whooping cough. Its virulence factors include pertussis toxin, adenylate cyclase toxin, filamentous hæmagglutinin, pertactin, fimbria, and tracheal cytotoxin.

The bacteria are spread by airborne droplets and the disease's incubation period is 7–10 days on average (range 6–20 days). Humans are the only known reservoir for B. pertussis. The complete B. pertussis genome of 4,086,186 base pairs was published in 2003. Compared to its closest relative B. bronchiseptica, the genome size is greatly reduced. This is mainly due to the adaptation to one host species (human) and the loss of capability of survival outside a host body.

Like B. bronchiseptica, B. pertussis can express a flagellum-like structure, even though it has been historically categorized as a nonmotile bacterium.

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