Origin of the plague microbe Yersinia pestis: Structure of the process of speciation

Simulation of the use of Yersinia pestis as a Biological Weapon in Nigeria

“…Few models have been done to alert on the seriousness of potential agents of bioterror especially Y. pestis in developing countries especially of African origin and yet agents of bioterror are easy and relatively cheap to develop and possess [5,6,11,14,17]. Nigeria has been reported to have experienced plague infection but very little is known about the Nigerian situation and little has been studied on this potential agent of bioterror [12,23].…”

“…Yersinia pestis is a gram negative, non-motile, non-sporulating bacterium and belongs to the family enterobacteriaceae of γ-Proteobacteria of which it is a biochemically unreactive member [3,4]. It is the aetiological agent of perhaps the most well documented and devastating epidemic ever known to man called plague ("bubonic plague", "pneumonic plague", "septicaemic plague", "black death") which is a dreaded killer of humans and animals that still persists and is endemic in some countries across the globe [5,6]. Over 200 species of mammals are susceptible to infection by this agent [7] and it has been credited with the death of about 200 million people in human history [8].…”

Plague Persistence in Western Europe: A Hypothesis

“…2 Because most fleas are able to clear Y. pestis infection from their gastrointestinal system relatively quickly, evolutionary pressure selects for strains of plague that overwhelm mammalian immune defenses, ensuring high concentrations of bacteria in the bloodstream. When fleas feed on an infected mammal, most of these insects can become transiently infected, able to transmit the organism to a new mammalian host (Perry and Fetherston 1997;Stenseth et al 2008;Suntsov 2012). In sum, knowing that the evolution and survival of Yersinia pestis depends upon conditions favoring flea replication and dispersal changes how we historians can approach the problem of plague's four-hundred-year persistence in Western Europe.…”

“…In most of today's permanent plague foci, Yersinia pestis can infect a local array of small mammals and their fleas. Although Suntsov (2012) argues that Eurasian marmot species, generally, were the original maintenance host for plague's evolution as a species, the burrow structure of great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) has also made them candidates (Randall et al 2005;Wilschut et al, 2013). As in regions of the globe where plague was newly introduced during the "Third Pandemic," a variety of amplifying hosts and their fleas would have promoted plague persistence in the Mediterranean and temperate Alpine zones during the second pandemic.…”

Plague Persistence in Western Europe: A Hypothesis

“…In most of today's permanent plague foci, Yersinia pestis can infect a local array of small mammals and their fleas. Although Suntsov (2012) argues that Eurasian marmot species, generally, were the original maintenance host for plague's evolution as a species, the burrow structure of great gerbils (Rhombomys opimus) has also made them candidates (Randall et al 2005;Wilschut et al, 2013). As in regions of the globe where plague was newly introduced during the "Third Pandemic," a variety of amplifying hosts and their fleas would have promoted plague persistence in the Mediterranean and temperate Alpine zones during the second pandemic.…”