Biomaterial Database

[Principles of speciation of the plague causative agent Yersinia pestis: gradualism or saltation?]. 2009

V V Suntsov, and N I Suntsova

The saltation origin of the causative agent of the plague Yersinia pestis from the pseudotuberculosis microbe Y. pseudotuberculosis O:1b has been proclaimed in recent investigations on molecular genetics. The speciation process in this case is proposed to be connected with horizontal inclusion of exogenous genetic structures (such as specific plasmids pFra and pPst) into the genome of the ancestral form. The alternative "Darwinian" model of the gradual origin of the plague agent is proposed based on ecological factors. The comparison of two evolutionary scenarios, saltation and gradual, is performed; the latter seems more likely.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D010930	Plague	An acute infectious disease caused by YERSINIA PESTIS that affects humans, wild rodents, and their ectoparasites. This condition persists due to its firm entrenchment in sylvatic rodent-flea ecosystems throughout the world. Bubonic plague is the most common form.	Bubonic Plague,Meningeal Plague,Pneumonic Plague,Pulmonic Plague,Black Death,Black Plague,Septicemic Plague,Yersinia pestis Infection
D010957	Plasmids	Extrachromosomal, usually CIRCULAR DNA molecules that are self-replicating and transferable from one organism to another. They are found in a variety of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, algal, and plant species. They are used in GENETIC ENGINEERING as CLONING VECTORS.	Episomes,Episome,Plasmid
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D015010	Yersinia pestis	The etiologic agent of PLAGUE in man, rats, ground squirrels, and other rodents.	Bacillus pestis,Bacterium pestis,Pasteurella pestis,Pestisella pestis,Yersinia pseudotuberculosis subsp. pestis
D015011	Yersinia pseudotuberculosis	A human and animal pathogen causing mesenteric lymphadenitis, diarrhea, and bacteremia.
D016680	Genome, Bacterial	The genetic complement of a BACTERIA as represented in its DNA.	Bacterial Genome,Bacterial Genomes,Genomes, Bacterial
D019143	Evolution, Molecular	The process of cumulative change at the level of DNA; RNA; and PROTEINS, over successive generations.	Molecular Evolution,Genetic Evolution,Evolution, Genetic
D022761	Gene Transfer, Horizontal	The naturally occurring transmission of genetic information between organisms, related or unrelated, circumventing parent-to-offspring transmission. Horizontal gene transfer may occur via a variety of naturally occurring processes such as GENETIC CONJUGATION; GENETIC TRANSDUCTION; and TRANSFECTION. It may result in a change of the recipient organism's genetic composition (TRANSFORMATION, GENETIC).	Gene Transfer, Lateral,Horizontal Gene Transfer,Lateral Gene Transfer,Recombination, Interspecies,Recombination, Interspecific,Gene Transfers, Lateral,Interspecies Recombination,Interspecific Recombination,Lateral Gene Transfers