Genus Yersinia
Taxonomy
Morphology
Growth conditions
Biochemical characters
Ecology
Pathogenicity
References
Proteobacteria => Gammaproteobacteria => Enterobacteriales => Enterobacteriaceae => Yersinia =>
Yersinia aldovae Bercovier et al. 1984
Yersinia aleksiciae Sprague and Neubauer 2005
Yersinia bercovieri Wauters et al. 1988
Yersinia enterocolitica Frederiksen 1964  (Bacterium enterocoliticum Schleifstein and Coleman 1939)*
Yersinia frederiksenii Ursing et al. 1981
Yersinia intermedia Brenner et al. 1981
Yersinia kristensenii Bercovier et al. 1981
Yersinia mollaretii Wauters et al. 1988, sp. nov.
Yersinia pestis - type species of the genus, van Loghem 1944 (Bacillus pestis, Lehmann and Neumann 1896)
Yersinia philomiragia Jensen et al. 1969  moved to Francisella philomiragia, Hollis et al. 1990
Yersinia pseudotuberculosis Smith and Thal 1965(Bacillus pseudotuberkulosis Pfeiffer 1889; Pasteurella pseudotuberculosis Topley and
Wilson 1929; Bacterium pseudotuberculosis Migula 1900)
Yersinia rohdei Aleksic et al. 1987
Yersinia ruckeri Ewing et al. 1978

* Y. enterocolitica subsp. enterocolitica &  Y. enterocolitica subsp. palearctica (Neubauer et al. 2000)
Gram negative, bipolar, 1.0-2.0 x 0.5 μm rods. Motile in vitro, but non-motile in vivo.
Small, gray-white, opaque, irregular colonies.
Facultatively anaerobic, optimum growth temperature 28°C. Grow very slowly at 4°C (1-3 weeks).
Nutrient Agar or Nutrient Broth, Trypticase Soy Agar ± 5% sheep blood, Mac Conkey – lactose negative colonies
Isolated mostly from water, some from fish, snails, oysters, frogs.
Also isolated from humans (feces, sputum, blood, urine, absceses, lymph nodes),
animals (rodents, swine, cattle, birds), soil & foods (milk, meat).
Yersinia pestis  is the infectious agent of bubonic plague – when lymph nodes are affected (“Black Death”). Pulmonary or septicemic
forms may occur. It is transmitted from rats to humans by the rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis.
Y. enterocolitica causes gastroenteritis (diarrhea) – appendicitis-like symptoms & mesenteric lymphadenitis.  Bacteria may also cause
infections of  wounds, joints and the urinary tract. Foodborne pathogen for humans & animals.
Y. pseudotuberculosis in animals can cause tuberculosis-like symptoms (necrosis and granulomas in the spleen, liver & lymph
nodes). In humans causes gastroenteritis with appendicitis-like symptoms. Foodborne pathogen.
Yersinia intermedia may produce conjunctivitis or diarrhea.
The others members of Yersinia are non-pathogenic or opportunistic pathogens.
  1. Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology, 9th ed., 1994;
  2. Bercovier H., Steigerwalt A.G.) Guiyoule A., Huntley-Carter G. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia aldovae (formerly Yersinia enterocolitica-
    like group X2): a new species of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from aquatic ecosystems. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1984, 34, 166-172.
  3. Sprague L.D. & Neubauer H.: Yersinia aleksiciae sp. nov. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2005, 55, 831-835.
  4. Wauters G., Janssens M., Steigerwalt A.G. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia mollaretii sp. nov. and Yersinia bercovieri sp. nov., formerly
    called Yersinia enterocolitica biogroups 3A and 3B. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1988, 38, 424-429.
  5. Frederiksen W.: A study of some Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like bacteria (Bacterium enterocoliticum and Pasteurella X).
    Proceedings of the XIV Scandinavian Congress of Pathology and Microbiology, Oslo 1964, Norwegian Universities Press, Oslo,
    1964, pp. 103-104
  6. Neubauer H., Aleksic S., Hensel A., Finke E.J. & Meyer H.: Yersinia enterocolitica 16S rRNA gene types belong to the same
    genospecies but form three homology groups. Int. J. Med. Microbiol., 2000, 290, 61-64.
  7. Ursing J., Brenner D.J., Bercovier H., Fanning G.R., Steigerwalt A.G., Brault J. & Mollaret H.H.: Yersinia frederiksenii: a new
    species of Enterobacteriaceae composed of rhamnose-positive strains (formerly called atypical Yersinia enterocolitica or
    Yersinia enterocolitica-like). Curr. Microbiol., 1980, 4, 213-217
  8. Brenner D.J., Bercovier H., Ursing J., Alonso J.M., Ssteigerwalt A.G., Fanning G.R., Carter G.P. & Mollaret H.H.: Yersinia
    intermedia: a new species of Enterobacteriaceae composed of rhamnose-positive, melibiose-positive, raffinose-positive strains
    (formerly called Yersinia enterocolitica or Yersinia enterocolitica-like). Curr. Microbiol., 1980, 4, 207-212.
  9. Wauters G., Janssens M., Steigerwalt A.G. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia mollaretii sp. nov. and Yersinia bercovieri sp. nov., formerly
    called Yersinia enterocolitica biogroups 3A and 3B. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1988, 38, 424-429
  10. JUDICIAL OPINION 60: Rejection of the name Yersinia pseudotuberculosis subsp. pestis (van Loghem) Bercovier et al. 1981
    and conservation of the name Yersinia pestis (Lehmann and Neumann) van Loghem 1944 for the plague bacillus. Int. J. Syst.
    Bacteriol., 1985, 35, 540
  11. Hollis D.G., Weaver R.E., Steigerwalt A.G., Wenger J.D., Moss C.W. & Brenner D.J.: Francisella philomiragia comb. nov. (formerly
    Yersinia philomiragia) and Francisella tularensis biogroup novicida (formerly Francisella novicida) associated with human
    disease. J. Clin. Microbiol., 1989, 27, 1601-1608.
  12. Pfeiffer A. (ed.): Über die bacilläre Pseudotuberkulose bei Nagethieren. Verlag von George Thieme, Leipzig, 1889, pp. 1-42.ð        
    Aleksic S., Steigerwalt A.G., Bockemuhl J., Hunrley-Carter G.P. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia rohdei sp. nov. isolated from human and
    dog feces and surface water. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1987, 37, 327-332.
  13. Ewing W.H., Ross A.J., Brenner D.J. & Fanning G.R.: Yersinia ruckeri sp. nov., the redmouth (RM) bacterium. International
    Journal of Systematic Bacteriology, 1978, 28, 37-44.
Y. pestis strains do not produce pigment but adsorb large amounts of exogenous hemin
that cause formation of  apparently pigmented colonies at 26 °C (not at 37 °C).
See table at the end.

 

Pigment

Catalase

Oxidase

Lactose

ONPG

Arginine dihydrolase

Lysine decarboxylase

Yersinia aldovae

-

+

-

-

-

-

-

Yersinia bercovieri

-

+

-

[-]

[+]

-

-

Yersinia enterocolitica

-

+

-

-

+

-

-

Yersinia fredriksenii

-

+

-

=

+

-

-

Yersinia intermedia

-

+

-

=

+

-

-

Yersinia kristensenii

-

+

-

-

=

-

-

Yersinia aleksiciae

-

+

-

-

=

-

+

Yersinia mollaretii

-

+

-

=

[-]

-

-

Yersinia pestis

-

+

-

-

=

-

-

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis

-

+

-

-

=

-

-

Yersinia rohdei

-

+

-

-

=

-

-

Yersinia ruckeri

-

+

-

-

=

-

=

 

Ornithine decarboxylase

Indole production

Citrate utilization

Hydrogen sulfide (H[-]S)

Urea hydrolysis

Voges-Proskauer

Phenilalanine

Motility

Gelatinase

Growth on KCN media

=

-

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

=

-

-

-

-

-

+

=

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

-

-

+

+

[-]

-

[+]

-

-

-

-

-

+

+

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

-

-

+

=

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

-

-

+

-

-

-

+

-

-

-

-

-

[+]

-

-

-

[-]

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

+

-

-

-

-

-

[-]

-

-

-

=

-

-

-

-

-

+

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

=

[-]

 

Malonate

Glucose

Gas from glucose

D-Mannitol

Inositol

D-Sorbitol

L-Rhamnose

Sucrose (Sacharose)

Melibiose

L-Arabinose

-

+

-

[+]

-

=

-

[-]

-

=

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

=

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

=

+

[-]

+

+

+

-

+

-

+

[-]

+

[-]

+

+

+

[+]

+

-

+

[-]

+

[-]

+

-

-

-

[+]

-

+

[-]

+

[-]

+

-

-

-

[+]

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

=

-

-

[-]

+

-

+

-

+

-

-

=

-

=

=

-

+

-

+

-

+

-

+

=

+

-

+

-

+

-

=

-

-

-

-

 

Nitrate reduction

Cellobiose

Dulcitol

Glycerol

Maltose

D-Mannose

Alfa-Methyl-D-Glucoside

Raffinose

Salicin

Trehalose

+

-

-

-

-

+

-

-

-

[+]

+

+

-

-

+

+

-

-

[-]

+

+

[+]

-

+

[+]

+

-

-

[-]

+

+

+

-

[+]

+

+

-

=

+

+

+

+

-

=

+

+

[+]

=

+

+

+

+

-

=

+

+

-

-

[-]

+

+

+

-

=

+

+

-

-

-

+

+

+

-

[-]

=

+

-

-

[-]

+

[+]

-

-

=

[+]

+

-

-

=

+

+

-

-

=

+

+

-

[-]

[-]

+

[+]

[-]

-

=

-

+

-

=

-

+

[+]

-

-

=

+

+

-

-

-

+

 

D-Xylose

Mucate

Tartrate (Jordans)

Esculin hydrolysis

Acetate utilization

Deoxyribonuclease

Lipase

Mehyl red

D-Adonitol

=

-

+

-

-

-

-

+

-

+

-

+

[-]

-

-

-

+

-

=

-

[+]

[-]

[-]

-

=

+

-

+

-

=

[+]

[-]

-

=

+

-

+

-

[+]

+

[-]

-

[-]

+

-

[+]

-

=

-

-

-

-

+

-

[+]

-

=

-

-

-

-

+

-

=

-

+

-

-

-

-

+

-

+

-

-

=

-

-

-

[+]

-

+

-

=

+

-

-

-

+

-

=

-

+

-

-

-

-

=

-

-

-

=

-

-

-

=

+

-
For Yersinia philomiragia see Francisella philomiragia.
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