Journal
CLINICAL MEDICINE & RESEARCH
Volume 4, Issue 3, Pages 189-199Publisher
MARSHFIELD CLINIC
DOI: 10.3121/cmr.4.3.189
Keywords
Genomic comparison; Virulence; Yersinia spp
Categories
Funding
- Department of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command
- Department of Homeland Security Office of Research and Development [NBACC RSRD-04-00161]
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Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague, which diverged from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis within the past 20,000 years. Although these two species share a high degree of homology at the DNA level (> 90%), they differ radically in their pathogenicity and transmission. In this review, we briefly outline the known virulence factors that differentiate these two species and emphasize genetic studies that have been conducted comparing Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis. These comparisons have led to a better understanding of the genetic contributions to the differences in the virulence and pathogenicity between these two organisms and have generated information that can be applied in future diagnostic and vaccine development. Comparison of the genetic differences between Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis has also lent insight into the emergence of acute pathogens from organisms causing milder diseases.
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