[The specific features of relations of the fleas Xenopsylla cheopis L. to the plague microbe of the Altai subspecies, its L-forms and revertant].

The rate and changes in the formation of bacterial lumps and blocks of the proventriculus in Xenopsylla cheopis fleas in their contamination with the plague microbe of the Altai subspecies, its L-form and revertant were studied to clarify the specific features of relations with the vector, including its transmission ability. The plague microbe of the Altai subspecies, which was exposed to L-transformation in the resistant organism of a warm-blooded host (a guinea pig), as well as L-form revertants obtained on nutrient media substantially lost their ability to get acclimatized in the vector and to form a proventricular block. The capacity to form lumps did not greatly differ in L- and original form of the microbe.