The 102-kilobase pgm locus of Yersinia pestis: sequence analysis and comparison of selected regions among different Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains.

ABSTRACT: We report the complete 119,443-bp sequence of the pgm locus from Yersinia pestis and its flanking regions. Sequence analysis confirms that the 102-kb unstable pgm locus is composed of two distinct parts: the pigmentation segment and a high-pathogenicity island (HPI) which carries virulence genes involved in iron acquisition (yersiniabactin biosynthetic gene cluster). Within the HPI, three genes coding for proteins related to phage proteins were uncovered. They are located at both extremities indicating that the entire HPI was acquired en bloc by phage-mediated horizontal transfer. We identified, within the pigmentation segment, two novel loci that may be involved in virulence: a fimbriae gene cluster and a locus probably encoding a two component regulatory system similar to the BvgAS regul

SUBMITTER: Buchrieser C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC96819 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature