Identification and regulation of expression of a gene encoding a filamentous hemagglutinin-related protein in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bordetella holmesii</Emphasis>

Background  

Bordetella holmesii is a human pathogen closely related to B. pertussis, the etiological agent of whooping cough. It is able to cause disease in immunocompromised patients, but also whooping cough-like symptoms in otherwise healthy individuals. However, virtually nothing was known so far about the underlying virulence mechanisms and previous attempts to identify virulence factors related to those of B. pertussis were not successful.