High-throughput analysis of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis gene essentiality in optimised in vitro conditions, and implications for the speciation of Yersinia pestis.

Background: Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is a zoonotic pathogen, causing mild gastrointestinal infection in humans. From this comparatively benign pathogenic species emerged the highly virulent plague bacillus, Yersinia pestis, which has experienced significant genetic divergence in a relatively short time span. Much of our knowledge of Yersinia spp.