Bordetella avium sp. nov., Isolated from the Respiratory Tracts of Turkeys and Other Birds

Abstract

Bordetella avium is proposed as the name of a new species containing 28 avian strains that cause coryza (rhinotracheitis) in turkey poults. The type strain is Hinz 591-77 (= ATCC 35086). The majority of the strains investigated were previously known as Bordetella-like or Bordetella bronchiseptica-like bacteria; one of the strains was previously referred to as Alcaligenes faecalis. The B. avium strains were compared with more than 50 culture collection strains belonging Bordetella bronchiseptica, Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, Alcaligenes faecalis, “Alcaligenes odorans,” Alcaligenes denitrificans, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Pseudomonas pertucinogena, and unnamed groups IVc-2 and IVe. The properties of B. avium and its taxonomic position relative to the above-mentioned taxa were determined by morphological, physiological, nutritional, and serological studies and by a numerical analysis of protein electropherograms, deoxyribonucleic acid-ribosomal ribonucleic acid hybridizations, and pathogenicity tests for turkey poults. The 28 B. avium strains formed a tight cluster, sharing very similar phenotypic features and protein gel electropherograms. We observed no significant differences among strains isolated from turkeys in different geographical areas. The 28 strains were strictly aerobic, gram-negative, peritrichously flagellated, urease-negative rods; the deoxyribonucleic acid base composition ranged from 61.6 to 62.6 mol% guanine plus cytosine. The phenotypic and serological characteristics, together with the properties of the deoxyribonucleic acid-ribosomal ribonucleic acid hybrids, indicated that this new species is a member of the genus Bordetella. The Alcaligenes denitrificans-Achromobacter xylosoxidans cluster is the closest neighbor of Bordetella, which is clearly different from all of the other taxa examined. B. avium has been isolated from the respiratory tracts of turkeys and from some other birds, such as a chicken, a duck, and a goose. All of the B. avium strains investigated caused coryza in turkey poults. An extensive phenotypic description of B. avium is given, and this species is differentiated phenotypically from the following taxa: B. pertussis, B. parapertussis, B. bronchiseptica, Alcaligenes faecalis, Alcaligenes denitrificans, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, and groups IVc-2 and IVe.