Biofilm formation in flea gut is important for flea-borne transmission of Yersinia pestis. There are enhancing factors (HmsHFRS, HmsCDE, and HmsT) and inhibiting one (HmsP) for Yersinia pestis biofilm formation. The RcsAB regulatory complex acts as a repressor of Yesinia biofilm formation, and adaptive pseudogenization of rcsA promotes Y. pestis to evolve the ability of biofilm formation in fle...

Human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs, or neutrophils) are the primary innate host defense against invading bacterial pathogens. Neutrophils are rapidly recruited to sites of infection and ingest microorganisms through a process known as phagocytosis. Following phagocytosis by human PMNs, microorganisms are killed by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and microbicidal products contained within gr...

It is established that an approximately 70-kb Lcr plasmid enables Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of bubonic plague, to multiply in focal necrotic lesions within visceral organs of mice by preventing net synthesis of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), thereby minimizing inflammation (Lcr+). Rabbit antiserum raised against cloned staphylo...

Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of the plague. Because of the disease's inherent communicability, rapid clinical course, and high mortality, it is critical that an outbreak, whether it is natural or deliberate, be detected and diagnosed quickly. The objective of this research was to generate a recombinant luxAB ("light")-tagged reporter phage that can detect Y. pestis by rapidly and sp...

1.Engelthaler, D.M., K.L. Gage, J.A. Montenieri, M. Chu, and L.G. Carter. 1999. PCR detection of Yersinia pestis in fleas: comparison with mouse inoculation. J. Clin. Microbiol. 37:1980-1984. 2.Stevenson, H.L., Y. Bai, M.Y. Kosoy, J.A. Montenieri, J.L. Lowell, M.C. Chu, and K.L. Gage. 2003. Detection of novel Bartonella strains and Yersinia pestis in prairie dogs and their fleas (Siphonaptera: ...

We report the complete 119,443-bp sequence of the pgm locus from Yersinia pestis and its flanking regions. Sequence analysis confirms that the 102-kb unstable pgm locus is composed of two distinct parts: the pigmentation segment and a high-pathogenicity island (HPI) which carries virulence genes involved in iron acquisition (yersiniabactin biosynthetic gene cluster). Within the HPI, three genes...

Of the ∼16 Yersinia species, only Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. enterocolitica are pathogenic to humans (Koornhof et al., 1999; Smego et al., 1999). The zoonotic obligate pathogen Y. pestis is the causal agent of plague, a systemic disease that is usually fatal if left untreated. Free-living Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis are the agents of yersiniosis, a rarely systemic ...

The cold-active restriction endonuclease YenI, an isoschizomer of PstI, was found in 12 of 14 Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O8 strains of different origins, but not in other serotypes of Y. enterocolitica, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, or Yersinia pestis. In spite of the limited number of strains tested, the result suggests that the detection of YenI endonuclease or the gene might result in m...

Plague, one of the most devastating diseases of human history, is caused by Yersinia pestis. In this study, we analyzed the population genetic structure of Y. pestis and the two other pathogenic Yersinia species, Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica. Fragments of five housekeeping genes and a gene involved in the synthesis of lipopolysaccharide were sequenced from 36 strains representing...