Role of Bordetella bronchiseptica sialic acid-binding hemagglutinin as a putative colonization factor

The role of Bordetella bronchiseptica sialic acid-binding hemagglutinin (SBHA) in bacterial colonization was studied by testing the ability of a phase-I strain carrying SBHA and its spontaneous mutants deficient in SBHA to colonize mouse tracheae. The mutants exhibited a remarkable reduction in colonizing ability, approximately 1,000-fold, when compared with that of the parent strain, suggesting that the possession of SBHA and the effective colonization by B. bronchiseptica organisms are closely related.