Expression of pertussis toxin in Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella parapertussis carrying recombinant plasmids.

Pertussis toxin is produced only by strains of Bordetella pertussis. Cloned genes encoding pertussis toxin from B. pertussis were transferred into Bordetella bronchiseptica and Bordetella parapertussis by conjugation. These transconjugants expressed pertussis toxin at levels comparable to those expressed by B. pertussis. The toxin made by these strains was biologically active in the Chinese hamster cell clumping assay, contained all five subunits, and was mostly periplasmic. Toxin expression appeared to be modulated in the same way as are the vir-regulated genes of B. pertussis. Introduction of these plasmids into B. pertussis failed to produce hypertoxigenic strains. Instead, these transconjugants underwent plasmid loss, gene deletions, or conversion to the avirulent phase.