Bordetella holmesii isolated from a patient with sickle cell anemia: analysis and comparison with other Bordetella holmesii isolates

To analyze a Bordetella holmesii isolate from a patient with sickle cell anemia and to compare it with other B. holmesii strains and isolates and with strains of B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica, two well-characterized species of the Bordetella genus. The bacteriological characteristics and proteins produced by the B. holmesii isolate and the reference strain (ATCC 51541) were analyzed and compared with those of B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica using sera from patients infected with B. pertussis, B. bronchiseptica or B. holmesii. The bacteriological characteristics of the B. holmesii isolate studied here were similar to those of the B. holmesii reference strain and other isolates. Some of the proteins produced by B. holmesii isolates were similar to those produced by B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica, but none of these proteins was similar to the toxins and adhesins involved in the pathogenicity of B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica. The phenotypic diversity of the proteins produced by B. holmesii isolates and the reference strain was striking. Our results suggest that either, the expression of B. holmesii proteins is regulated as in B. pertussis and B. bronchiseptica, with the B. holmesii strain exhibiting different phases, or the proteins produced in B. holmesii are different.