Isolation and characterization of mutant strains of Bordetella bronchiseptica lacking dermonecrotic toxin-producing ability.

Mutant strains of Bordetella bronchiseptica, named B-42, B-76, B-84, and B-119, were obtained after serial passages of a parent strain, L3, on Bordet-Gengou agar plates containing 20% horse blood and 200 micrograms of nalidixic acid per ml (BGN-20 agar plates) at 42 degrees C. Mutant strains completely lacked dermonecrotic toxin-producing ability, and lethal activity of the strains for mice was apparently reduced compared with that of strain L3. Mutant strains were able to grow at 42 degrees C, and the strains were nalidixic acid resistant. The mutant strains showed domed (Dom+) colony morphology with smooth texture (Scs+) and no production of zone of hemolysis (Hly-), but the agglutinability of these strains to antiserum prepared with Dom+ Scs+ Hly+ organisms of strain L3 was the same as that of strain L3. When strain B-42 was inoculated intramuscularly or intranasally into guinea pigs, all the animals survived without manifesting clinical signs and produced a high-level of serum agglutination antibodies against strain L3. These inoculated animals were protected against intranasal challenge with strain L3. These properties of mutant strains are hereditarily stable after 50 subcultures on BGN-20 agar plates or 20 passages in mice. These data suggest that the mutant strains lacking dermonecrotic toxin-producing ability can be used as a live attenuated vaccine against swine atrophic rhinitis.