Adherence of Bordetella avium to tracheal mucosa of turkeys: correlation with hemagglutination.

Adherence to turkey tracheal mucosa and agglutination of guinea pig erythrocytes were determined for 20 strains of Bordetella avium. Ten type-I strains, 7 type-II strains, 2 transposon-induced mutants, and 1 revertant were evaluated. All type-I strains adhered readily to tracheal mucosa and agglutinated erythrocytes, whereas no type-II strains adhered to trachea or caused hemagglutination (HA). Two mutants selected for loss of HA activity were less adherent to tracheal mucosa, compared with the parent strain. Reversion of one mutant to HA-positive status was accompanied by reconstitution of much of its adherence capacity. Results of this study provide preliminary evidence that tracheal adherence and HA of B avium are closely related.