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Veterinary bacteriology: information about important bacteria
Veterinary bacteriology


Species/Subspecies: Yersinia pestis
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]   
Taxonomy:
Phylum
Proteobacteria
Class
Gammaproteobacteria
Order
Enterobacterales
Family
Yersiniaceae 
Genus
Yersinia
Type Strain: ATCC 19428 = NCTC 5923
Macromorphology (smell):
     
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
?
Glucose (gas) -. Cf. other Yersinia spp.
Spec. Char.:
Vector: Flea
Reservoir: Different species of rodents.
Disease:
HostsDiseaseClinical picture
HumansPlague (Black death)The three most common recognised clinical forms are:
Bubonic, enlarged lymphnodes with pus that may rupture
Septicaemic, fever, chills, extreme weakness, abdominal pain, shock, and possibly bleeding into the skin and other organs. Skin and other tissues may turn black and die, especially on fingers, toes, and the nose.
Pneumonic, fever, headache, pneumonia, chest pain and cough, sometimes bloody. Pneumonic plague is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person
CatsPlagueMandibular lymphadenitis, fever, depression, anorexia, sneezing and occasionally nervous disturbance. Most infections are fatal
RodentsSylvatic plagueUsually latent
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:
Acc-noStrainSize (bp)Genome
NC_003143 CO-92 4 653 728 1l + 3l 
16S rRNA Seq.:
Acc-noStrainNumber of NTOperon
AF366383 NCTC 5923T 1461 6 

Taxonomy/phylogeny:
 		 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:2022-04-13

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