What toxin does Yersinia pestis produce?
The murine toxin (ymt) gene, which encodes a phospholipase D, is required for survival of Y. pestis within the flea midgut [8]. However, additional genes may also be important for survival and replication of Y. pestis within the flea or play a role in transmission to and survival within the mammalian host.
What type of agent is Yersinia pestis?
The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the systemic invasive infectious disease classically referred to as plague, and has been responsible for three human pandemics: the Justinian plague (sixth to eighth centuries), the Black Death (fourteenth to nineteenth centuries) and modern plague ( …
How does Yersinia pestis work?
When Y. pestis attacks a cell it uses the type-III pathway–a needle-like projection–to inject various toxins into the cell, killing it. The researchers endowed these bacteria with an additional enzyme, which the microbes also injected in cells. This enzyme can snip the green dye into two pieces.
Is Yersinia pestis aerobic or anaerobic?
Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a pleomorphic, gram negative coccobacillus in the family Enterobacteriaceae. It is an aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, and facultatively intracellular pathogen. Only one serotype is recognized.
Does Yersinia pestis release toxins?
Abstract. Yersinia pestis carries homologues of the toxin complex (Tc) family proteins, which were first identified in other Gram-negative bacteria as having potent insecticidal activity.
Does Yersinia pestis have LPS?
The LPS of Y. pestis is composed of a short carbohydrate (oligosaccharide) chain bound to lipid A [10, 12, 13]. This chain contains a conserved pentasaccharide moiety, the so-called inner core, which is typical of all wild strains of enterobacteria.
How is Yersinia pestis transmitted?
The plague bacteria, Yersinia pestis, is transmitted to humans through the bites of fleas that have previously fed on infected animals, such as: Rats. Mice. Squirrels.
Is Yersinia pestis prokaryotic or eukaryotic?
Classification. Yersinia pestis is unicellular, placing it in the Bacteria domain. It is classified as a Prokaryotae because of its absence of a nuclear membrane and DNA that is not organized into chromosomes.
What are the symptoms of Yersinia pestis?
Symptoms include high fever, chills, headaches, chest pain, rapid breathing, severe shortness of breath and cough that might bring up blood. Without proper treatment, the disease can quickly lead to death.