NC_014029:2138000 Yersinia pestis Z176003 chromosome, complete genome
Host Lineage: Yersinia pestis; Yersinia; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriales; Proteobacteria; Bacteria
General Information: It was isolated from a dead marmot in Tibet Autonomous Region, China. Gram-negative straight rods, sometimes approaching a spherical shape. Y.pestis is always nonmotile. It is the causative agent of plague which is primarily a disease of wild rodents. Y.pestis is transmitted among wild rodents by fleas, in which the bacteria multiply and block the esophagus and the pharynx. The fleas regurgitate the bacteria when they take their next blood meal. Bacteria are transmitted subcutaneously to humans by the bite of infected fleas, but also by air, especially during pandemics of disease. Infective flea bites produce the typical bubonic form of plague in humans.