Species/Subspecies: | Yersinia pestis | ||||||||||||
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Etymology: | Genus name: named after the French bacteriologist A.J.E. Yersin, who in 1894 first isolated the bacterium, which causes the plague. Species epithet: the plague. | ||||||||||||
Significance: | Abbout 1000 cases are reported to WHO each year. [Very important] |
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Taxonomy: | Class Gammaproteobacteria Order Enterobacterales Family Yersiniaceae Genus Yersinia |
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Type Strain: | ATCC 19428 = NCTC 5923 | ||||||||||||
Macromorphology (smell):
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Micromorphology: | Nonmotile rods | ||||||||||||
Gram +/Gram -: | G- | ||||||||||||
Metabolism: | Facultatively anaerobic | ||||||||||||
Catalase/Oxidase: | +/- | ||||||||||||
Other Enzymes: | Tryptophanase - och urease - | ||||||||||||
Biochemical Tests: | Citrate -, aesculinase -, methyl red +. | ||||||||||||
Fermentation of carbohydrates: | D-glucose + lactose - maltose V L-rhamnose - sucrose - L-arabinose + cellobiose - D-mannitol + salicin ? trehalose + glycerol V inulin ? raffinose - D-sorbitol - starch ? |
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Spec. Char.: | |||||||||||||
Special Media: | |||||||||||||
Vector: | Flea | ||||||||||||
Reservoir: | Different species of rodents. | ||||||||||||
Disease: |
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Virulence Factors: | The so-called pgm-locus, with a size of 102 kb and which is flanked by 2 IS100-elements. The pgm-locus contains several virulence genes, one of which makes it possible for the bacterium to take up and store hemin. This gene makes it also possible for the bacterium to take up the stain Congo red, which can be utilized for differentiation of virulent and nonvirulent strains (see image under Macromorphologi). | ||||||||||||
Genome Sequence: |
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16S rRNA Seq.: |
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Taxonomy/phylogeny:
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Within the genus Yersinia, 20 species have been described. All species belong to the family Enterobacteriaceae. | ||||||||||||
Legislation: | Yersinia pestis belongs to category A, as a possible biological warfare agent according to NIAID. | ||||||||||||
Reference(s): | No. 174 | ||||||||||||
Updated: | 2023-03-29 |