Evidence for phenotypic bistability resulting from transcriptional interference of bvgAS in Bordetella bronchiseptica.

Bordetella species cause respiratory infections in mammals. Their master regulatory system BvgAS controls expression of at least three distinct phenotypic phases in response to environmental cues. The Bvg⁺ phase is necessary and sufficient for respiratory infection while the Bvg⁻ phase is required for survival ex vivo.

Intraspecific morphological and genetic variation of common species predicts ranges of threatened ones.

Predicting where threatened species occur is useful for making informed conservation decisions. However, because they are usually rare, surveying threatened species is often expensive and time intensive. Here, we show how regions where common species exhibit high genetic and morphological divergence among populations can be used to predict the occurrence of species of conservation concern.

An improved recombination-based in vivo expression technology-like reporter system reveals differential cyaA gene activation in Bordetella species.

Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella bronchiseptica rely on the global two-component regulatory system BvgAS to control expression of distinct phenotypic phases. In the Bvg(-) phase, expression of vrg genes, including those required for motility in B. bronchiseptica, is activated and genes encoding virulence factors are not expressed.

Mapping evolutionary process: a multi-taxa approach to conservation prioritization.

Human-induced land use changes are causing extensive habitat fragmentation. As a result, many species are not able to shift their ranges in response to climate change and will likely need to adapt in situ to changing climate conditions. Consequently, a prudent strategy to maintain the ability of populations to adapt is to focus conservation efforts on areas where levels of intraspecific variation are high.