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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Virus and Prion Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #429025
Research Project: Virulence Mechanisms, Microbiome Changes and Control Strategies for Priority Bacterial Infections in Swine

Location: Virus and Prion Research

Title: Comparative analysis of the diversity within the B. bronchiseptica fimX locus

Author
item Nicholson, Tracy
item Shore, Sarah

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/13/2026
Publication Date: 3/2/2026
Citation: Nicholson, T.L., Shore, S. 2026. Comparative analysis of the diversity within the B. bronchiseptica fimX locus. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0342754.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0342754

Interpretive Summary: Bordetella bronchiseptica is a highly contagious veterinary bacterial respiratory pathogen. B. bronchispetica can infect a broad range of animals including pigs and can cause a variety of disease outcomes ranging from asymptomatic carriage to severe pneumonia. B. bronchiseptica fimbriae mediate attachment to the respiratory tract and are considered to be good targets for vaccine development. The goal of this study was to use all publicly available B. bronchiseptica genome sequences to evaluate the genetic differences that occur within a specific region of the genome, referred to as the fimX locus. Our results show that differences in the fimX locus among B. bronchiseptica strains include both the number of genes harbored, as well as the type of predicted fimbrial subunit gene types contained within the fimX locus. A total of six different fimbrial subunit gene types were identified. Collectively, these results help to facilitate efforts targeting B. bronchiseptica fimbriae as a promising avenue for veterinary therapies needed to decrease the B. bronchiseptica disease burden among animals.

Technical Abstract: Bordetella bronchiseptica is a highly contagious veterinary bacterial respiratory pathogen with a broad host range that can cause a variety of clinical disease outcomes ranging from asymptomatic carriage to severe pneumonia. B. bronchiseptica fimbriae mediate attachment to respiratory epithelium and are considered to serve as potential protective antigens. Several comparative genomic studies involving B. bronchiseptica strains have demonstrated an overall low level of genomic variability. The region located within the fimX locus is one of the few regions in which genomic variability has been reported. The goal of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the genomic variability harbored within the fimX locus among B. bronchiseptica strains. Our analysis revealed that the genetic variability identified within the fimX locus included both the number of genes harbored, as well as the type of predicted fimbrial subunit gene types contained within the fimX locus. A total of six different fimbrial subunit gene types were identified among the B. bronchiseptica genome assemblies analyzed in this study. Comparative analysis data also suggests that diversity among the fimbrial subunit genes located within the fimX locus was likely generated by homologous recombination.