A North American Yersinia pestis draft genome sequence: SNPs and phylogenetic analysis.

Background: Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is responsible for some of the greatest epidemic scourges of mankind. It is widespread in the western United States, although it has only been present there for just over 100 years. As a result, there has been very little time for diversity to accumulate in this region.

Differential plague-transmission dynamics determine Yersinia pestis population genetic structure on local, regional, and global scales.

Plague, the disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, has greatly impacted human civilization. Y. pestis is a successful global pathogen, with active foci on all continents except Australia and Antarctica.