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Nature 413, 523-527 (4 October 2001) | doi:10.1038/35097083; Received 8 May 2001; Accepted 16 August 2001

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Genome sequence of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague

J. Parkhill1, B. W. Wren2, N. R. Thomson1, R. W. Titball3, M. T. G. Holden1, M. B. Prentice4, M. Sebaihia1, K. D. James1, C. Churcher1, K. L. Mungall1, S. Baker1, D. Basham1, S. D. Bentley1, K. Brooks1, A. M. Cerdeño-Tárraga1, T. Chillingworth1, A. Cronin1, R. M. Davies1, P. Davis1, G. Dougan5, T. Feltwell1, N. Hamlin1, S. Holroyd1, K. Jagels1, A. V. Karlyshev2, S. Leather1, S. Moule1, P. C. F. Oyston3, M. Quail1, K. Rutherford1, M. Simmonds1, J. Skelton1, K. Stevens1, S. Whitehead1 & B. G. Barrell1

  1. The Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
  2. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
  3. Chemical and Biological Sciences, Dstl, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, UK
  4. Department of Medical Microbiology, St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London EC1A 7BE, UK
  5. Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, UK

Correspondence to: J. Parkhill1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.P. (e-mail: Email: parkhill@sanger.ac.uk) or B.W.W. (e-mail: Email: brendan.wren@lshtm.ac.uk). The sequences have been submitted to EMBL under the accession numbers AL590842 (chromosome), AL109969 (pPCP1), AL117189 (pCD1) and AL117211 (pMT1).

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The Gram-negative bacterium Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of the systemic invasive infectious disease classically referred to as plague1, and has been responsible for three human pandemics: the Justinian plague (sixth to eighth centuries), the Black Death (fourteenth to nineteenth centuries) and modern plague (nineteenth century to the present day). The recent identification of strains resistant to multiple drugs2 and the potential use of Y. pestis as an agent of biological warfare mean that plague still poses a threat to human health. Here we report the complete genome sequence of Y. pestis strain CO92, consisting of a 4.65-megabase (Mb) chromosome and three plasmids of 96.2 kilobases (kb), 70.3 kb and 9.6 kb. The genome is unusually rich in insertion sequences and displays anomalies in GC base-composition bias, indicating frequent intragenomic recombination. Many genes seem to have been acquired from other bacteria and viruses (including adhesins, secretion systems and insecticidal toxins). The genome contains around 150 pseudogenes, many of which are remnants of a redundant enteropathogenic lifestyle. The evidence of ongoing genome fluidity, expansion and decay suggests Y. pestis is a pathogen that has undergone large-scale genetic flux and provides a unique insight into the ways in which new and highly virulent pathogens evolve.

  1. The Sanger Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
  2. Department of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
  3. Chemical and Biological Sciences, Dstl, Porton Down, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JQ, UK
  4. Department of Medical Microbiology, St Bartholomew's and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London EC1A 7BE, UK
  5. Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London SW7 2AZ, UK

Correspondence to: J. Parkhill1 Correspondence and requests for materials should be addressed to J.P. (e-mail: Email: parkhill@sanger.ac.uk) or B.W.W. (e-mail: Email: brendan.wren@lshtm.ac.uk). The sequences have been submitted to EMBL under the accession numbers AL590842 (chromosome), AL109969 (pPCP1), AL117189 (pCD1) and AL117211 (pMT1).