About the Authors

Eriikka Heikkinen

Contributed equally to this work with: Eriikka Heikkinen, Teemu Kallonen

Affiliation Pertussis Reference Laboratory, National Public Health Institute, Turku, Finland

Teemu Kallonen

Contributed equally to this work with: Eriikka Heikkinen, Teemu Kallonen

Affiliations Pertussis Reference Laboratory, National Public Health Institute, Turku, Finland, Turku Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Lilli Saarinen

Affiliation Finnish DNA Microarray Centre, Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

Rolf Sara

Affiliation Finnish DNA Microarray Centre, Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

Audrey J. King

Affiliation Laboratory for Infectious Diseases and Screening, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Frits R. Mooi

Affiliation Laboratory for Infectious Diseases and Screening, National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

Juhani T. Soini

Affiliation Finnish DNA Microarray Centre, Turku Centre for Biotechnology, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland

Jussi Mertsola

Affiliation Department of Pediatrics, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland

Qiushui He

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: qiushui.he@ktl.fi

Affiliation Pertussis Reference Laboratory, National Public Health Institute, Turku, Finland

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: QH. Performed the experiments: EH TK. Analyzed the data: EH TK. Wrote the paper: EH TK. Other: Initiated and supervised the project: QH JM. Contributed to data analysis: LS. Initiated and contributed significantly to the development of the oligonucleotides used for the microarray: AK QH. Set up the oligonucleotide microarray: EH. Contributed to the development of the microarray: FM. Commented on the manuscript: FM JM. Participated in array and hybridisation planning: JS RS. Participated in array and hybridisation design: JS RS. Supervised the array production: JS RS. Wrote the manuscript with helpful discussions and comments from all co-authors: QH.