Characterization of vir-activated TnphoA gene fusions in Bordetella pertussis

The expression of many of the known virulence determinants of Bordetella pertussis is coordinately regulated by the vir regulatory locus and reduced in response to environmental signals called modulators. We have previously identified eight TnphoA gene fusions in B. pertussis in which the expression of alkaline phosphatase was maximal in the absence of the modulators nicotinic acid and MgSO4. We have termed the genes identified by these fusions vir-activated genes. Here we report the characterization of these TnphoA mutant strains. Four fusion strains were defective in known virulence determinants. For one of these, fusion strain SK39, Southern blot hybridization demonstrated that TnphoA was inserted in the S1 subunit gene of pertussis toxin. Hemagglutination assays, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and immunoblots identified three fusions strains, SK16, SK75, and SK91, that were defective in filamentous hemagglutinin. Whereas all three filamentous hemagglutinin-defective mutants showed either normal or enhanced colonization, the pertussis toxin-defective mutant showed a marked defect in pulmonary persistence. Of the four other fusion strains, two were deficient in outer membrane proteins. One of these, strain SK8, was defective in a major outer membrane protein of 95 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This strain colonized mouse lungs less well and did not induce lymphocytosis after aerosol challenge. The other strain, SK34, was defective in four outer membrane proteins, three of which were detectable only on a Western blot with polyclonal sera against B. pertussis. Two of our gene fusion strains did not show any defect in identifiable vir-regulated proteins.