The adenylate cyclase gene of Bordetella pertussis: Molecular cloning and transcriptional analysis.

Abstract

The disease pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, is caused by the gram negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis. In order to cause disease, the pathogen produces a battery of potential virulence factors which assist the bacteria in colonizing and surviving in the human host. Among these factors is a soluble adenylate cyclase which is thought to interfere with host immune defenses. The adenylate cyclase toxin, along with several other B. pertussis virulence factors, undergo a phase shift between states of expression and repression. The gene for the adenylate cyclase was isolated by use of transposon tagging to localize the region of the structural gene. In addition, primer extension was done to localize the promoter region of this gene. Studies with this promoter fused to a promoterless galactokinase gene were done in Escherechia coli and demonstrated that the adenylate cyclase promoter was unable to be activated in the heterologous E. coli system.