Pesticinogeny: a Characteristic Useful for Presumptive Identification and Isolation of Pasteurella pestis

Abstract

Current methods of identifying Pasteurella pestis rely heavily on tests specific for detecting fraction I, the envelope antigen. Pesticin I, a bacteriocin inhibitory for P. pseudotuberculosis, has been demonstrated in nearly all tested strains isolated from human infections. The results of using this characteristic as an identifying trait for P. pestis were compared with results reported for detecting fraction I by fluorescent-antibody and antiserum-agar techniques. Data indicate that, although certain atypical strains of P. pestis fail to react in one system or the other, a combination of these tests provides positive identification in all cases. Detection of P. pestis in contaminated materials is greatly facilitated, and the simplicity of this test makes it a valuable tool in the study of plague infections and an important adjunct to methods currently in use. The use of the pesticin I assay is not intended to replace other accepted techniques, but rather to supplement them and increase the effectiveness of plague investigation.

Pentaplex real‐time PCR for differential detection of Yersinia pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis and application for testing fleas collected during plague epizootics

“…Most Y. pestis strains isolated from humans, animals, or fleas contain all three typical plasmids. However, Y. pestis isolates lacking one or more plasmids may cause mild or even fatal disease, as previously been reported in South Africa and the United States (Beesley & Surgalla, 1970;Isaacson et al, 1973;Williams, Harrison, & Cavanaugh, 1975;Williams et al, 1978;Winter, Cherry, & Moody, 1960). Such variants have been reported infrequently.…”

Identification of a Yersinia pestis-specific DNA probe with potential for use in plague surveillance

“…This result is expected because TRU lacks the pesticin plasmid. The association of this plasmid with virulence (9) may explain its high rate of carriage in wild plague isolates (4,38) and argues for the usefulness of pKYP1-derived DNA fragments as probes for plague surveillance. In order to transmit plague bacilli to a new host, a flea must become "blocked" with a solid mass of bacteria and blood products.…”

Yersinia pestis--etiologic agent of plague.

“…A single serum sample with a titer greater than 10 in a person not previously infected or vaccinated against plague is presumptive evidence of recent infection. There have been reports in the literature on the isolation of unusual Y. pestis strains from patients, including one with a fatal case, where the organism apparently expressed reduced amounts of F1 (18,132,295,297). While such isolates are rare, strains lacking F1 would not be identified by the present serological methods.…”