Yersinia | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Bacteria |
Phylum: | Pseudomonadota |
Class: | Gammaproteobacteria |
Order: | Enterobacterales |
Family: | Yersiniaceae |
Genus: | Yersinia van Loghem, 1944 |
Species | |
|
Yersinia is a genus of bacteria in the family Yersiniaceae. [1] Yersinia species are Gram-negative, coccobacilli bacteria, a few micrometers long and fractions of a micrometer in diameter, and are facultative anaerobes. [2] Some members of Yersinia are pathogenic in humans; in particular, Y. pestis is the causative agent of the plague. Rodents are the natural reservoirs of Yersinia; less frequently, other mammals serve as the host. Infection may occur either through blood (in the case of Y. pestis) or in an alimentary fashion, occasionally via consumption of food products (especially vegetables, milk-derived products, and meat) contaminated with infected urine or feces.
Speculations exist as to whether or not certain Yersinia can also be spread by protozoonotic mechanisms, since Yersinia species are known to be facultative intracellular parasites; studies and discussions of the possibility of amoeba-vectored (through the cyst form of the protozoan) Yersinia propagation and proliferation are now in progress. [3]
An interesting feature peculiar to some of the Yersinia bacteria is the ability to not only survive, but also to actively proliferate at temperatures as low as 1–4 °C (e.g., on cut salads and other food products in a refrigerator). [4] Yersinia bacteria are relatively quickly inactivated by oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide and potassium permanganate solutions.
The creation of YersiniaBase, a data and tools collection for the reporting and comparison of Yersinia species genome sequence data, was reported in January 2015. [5] The provisional representation of species addressed by the resource has been indicated in the TaxBox on this page by a superscript 'yb' beside the species name. [5] Development of YersiniaBase was funded by the University of Malaya and the Ministry of Education, Malaysia. [5]
Y. pestis is the causative agent of plague. The disease caused by Y. enterocolitica is called yersiniosis.
Yersinia may be associated with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory autoimmune condition of the gut. Iranian people with Crohn's disease were more likely to have had earlier exposure to refrigerators at home, [6] consistent with its unusual ability to thrive at low temperatures.
Yersinia is implicated as one of the causes of reactive arthritis worldwide. [7]
Also, the genus is associated with pseudoappendicitis, which is an incorrect diagnosis of appendicitis due to a similar presentation. [8]
Y. pestis, the first known species, was identified in 1894 [9] by A.E.J. Yersin, a Swiss bacteriologist, and Kitasato Shibasaburō, a Japanese bacteriologist. [10] It was formerly described as Pasteurella pestis (known trivially as the plague-bacillus) by Lehmann and Neumann in 1896. [10] [11] In 1944, van Loghem reclassified the species P. pestis and P. rondentium into a new genus, Yersinia. [10] [11] Following the introduction of the bacteriological code, it was accepted as valid in 1980. [11]
Yersinia pestis is a gram-negative, non-motile, coccobacillus bacterium without spores that is related to both Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, the pathogen from which Y. pestis evolved and responsible for the Far East scarlet-like fever. It is a facultative anaerobic organism that can infect humans via the Oriental rat flea. It causes the disease plague, which caused the Plague of Justinian and the Black Death, the deadliest pandemic in recorded history. Plague takes three main forms: pneumonic, septicemic, and bubonic. Yersinia pestis is a parasite of its host, the rat flea, which is also a parasite of rats, hence Y. pestis is a hyperparasite.
Enterobacterales is an order of Gram-negative, non-spore forming, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria with the class Gammaproteobacteria. The type genus of this order is Enterobacter.
Yersinia enterocolitica is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium, belonging to the family Yersiniaceae. It is motile at temperatures of 22–29°C (72–84°F), but becomes nonmotile at normal human body temperature. Y. enterocolitica infection causes the disease yersiniosis, which is an animal-borne disease occurring in humans, as well as in a wide array of animals such as cattle, deer, pigs, and birds. Many of these animals recover from the disease and become carriers; these are potential sources of contagion despite showing no signs of disease. The bacterium infects the host by sticking to its cells using trimeric autotransporter adhesins.
Enterobacter is a genus of common Gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Cultures are found in soil, water, sewage, feces and gut environments. It is the type genus of the order Enterobacterales. Several strains of these bacteria are pathogenic and cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised hosts and in those who are on mechanical ventilation. The urinary and respiratory tracts are the most common sites of infection. The genus Enterobacter is a member of the coliform group of bacteria. It does not belong to the fecal coliforms group of bacteria, unlike Escherichia coli, because it is incapable of growth at 44.5 °C in the presence of bile salts. Some of them show quorum sensing properties.
Yersiniosis is an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract caused by bacteria of the genus Yersinia other than Y. pestis. Most cases of yersiniosis in humans are caused by Y. enterocolitica, with a small minority being caused by Y. pseudotuberculosis. Rarely, other species of the genus can cause yersiniosis.
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is a Gram-negative bacterium that causes Far East scarlet-like fever in humans, who occasionally get infected zoonotically, most often through the food-borne route. Animals are also infected by Y. pseudotuberculosis. The bacterium is urease positive.
In molecular biology, LcrV is a protein found in Yersinia pestis and several other bacterial species. It forms part of the Yersinia pestis virulence protein factors that also includes all Yops, or Yersinia outer protein, but the name has been kept out of convention. LcrV's main function is not actually known, but it is essential for the production of other Yops.
Theories of the Black Death are a variety of explanations that have been advanced to explain the nature and transmission of the Black Death (1347–51). A number of epidemiologists from the 1980s to the 2000s challenged the traditional view that the Black Death was caused by plague based on the type and spread of the disease. The confirmation in 2010 and 2011 that Yersinia pestis DNA was associated with a large number of plague sites has led researchers to conclude that "Finally, plague is plague."
Bacterial taxonomy is subfield of taxonomy devoted to the classification of bacteria specimens into taxonomic ranks.
Yersiniabactin (Ybt) is a siderophore found in the pathogenic bacteria Yersinia pestis, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and Yersinia enterocolitica, as well as several strains of enterobacteria including enteropathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. Siderophores, compounds of low molecular mass with high affinities for ferric iron, are important virulence factors in pathogenic bacteria. Iron—an essential element for life used for such cellular processes as respiration and DNA replication—is extensively chelated by host proteins like lactoferrin and ferritin; thus, the pathogen produces molecules with an even higher affinity for Fe3+ than these proteins in order to acquire sufficient iron for growth. As a part of such an iron-uptake system, yersiniabactin plays an important role in pathogenicity of Y. pestis, Y. pseudotuberculosis, and Y. entercolitica.
Yersinia mollaretii is a Gram-negative species of bacteria. The species is named after Henri Mollaret, the former head of the National Yersinia Center at Institut Pasteur.
The Yersiniaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria that includes some familiar pathogens. For example, the type genus Yersinia includes Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague. This family is a member of the order Enterobacterales in the class Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum Pseudomonadota.
Caldibacillus is a facultative anaerobe genus of bacteria that stains Gram-positive from the family of Bacillaceae. The type species of this genus is Caldibacillus debilis.
Mangrovibacter is a genus in the order Enterobacterales. Members of the genus are Gram-stain-negative, facultatively anaerobic, nitrogen-fixing, and rod shaped. The name Mangrovibacter derives from:
Neo-Latin noun mangrovum, mangrove; Neo-Latin masculine gender noun, a rod; bacter, nominally meaning "a rod", but in effect meaning a bacterium, rod; Neo-Latin masculine gender noun Mangrovibacter, mangrove rod.
The Pectobacteriaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria which largely consist of plant pathogens. This family is a member of the order Enterobacterales in the class Gammaproteobacteria of the phylum Pseudomonadota. The type species of this family is Pectobacterium.
Alkalihalobacillus is a genus of gram-positive or gram-variable rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Alkalihalobacillus alcalophilus.
Neobacillus is a genus of rod-shaped bacteria that show Gram-positive or Gram-variable staining. This genus belongs under the family Bacillaceae within the order Bacillales. The type species of Neobacillus is Neobacillus niacini.
Weizmannia is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Weizmannia coagulans.
Alkalicoccus is a genus of Gram-Positive rod-shaped bacteria in the family Bacillaceae from the order Bacillales. The type species of this genus is Alkalicoccus saliphilus.
Virginia L. Miller is a microbiologist known for her work on studying the factors leading to disease caused by bacteria. Miller is an elected fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (2003) and a former Pew Charitable Trust Biomedical Scholar (1989).