Biomaterial Database

Evolutionary trees for the genus Bordetella. 1989

S F Altschul

Mathematical Research Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.

Recent data on enzyme electrophoretic mobility and DNA sequences for pertussis toxin allow the construction of evolutionary trees for various strains belonging to the genus Bordetella. In contrast to previous analyses, these data can be seen to support the separate clustering of Bordetella pertussis strains, in agreement with the traditional classification based on other phenotypic characteristics. An earlier argument placing the divergence of B. pertussis and B. parapertussis before 1912 does not follow from the evolutionary trees proposed here, which also have different implications for several other claims concerning the evolution of these strains.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010641	Phenotype	The outward appearance of the individual. It is the product of interactions between genes, and between the GENOTYPE and the environment.	Phenotypes
D001884	Bordetella	A genus of gram-negative aerobic bacteria whose cells are minute coccobacilli. It consists of both parasitic and pathogenic species.
D001886	Bordetella pertussis	A species of gram-negative, aerobic bacteria that is the causative agent of WHOOPING COUGH. Its cells are minute coccobacilli that are surrounded by a slime sheath.	Bacterium tussis-convulsivae,Haemophilus pertussis,Hemophilus pertussis
D005075	Biological Evolution	The process of cumulative change over successive generations through which organisms acquire their distinguishing morphological and physiological characteristics.	Evolution, Biological
D005798	Genes, Bacterial	The functional hereditary units of BACTERIA.	Bacterial Gene,Bacterial Genes,Gene, Bacterial