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Annual Review of Microbiology

Volume 71, 2017

“Fleaing” the Plague: Adaptations of to Its Insect Vector That Lead to Transmission*

Abstract

Interest in arthropod-borne pathogens focuses primarily on how they cause disease in humans. How they produce a transmissible infection in their arthropod host is just as critical to their life cycle, however. adopts a unique life stage in the digestive tract of its flea vector, characterized by rapid formation of a bacterial biofilm that is enveloped in a complex extracellular polymeric substance. Localization and adherence of the biofilm to the flea foregut is essential for transmission. Here, we review the molecular and genetic mechanisms of these processes and present a comparative evaluation and updated model of two related transmission mechanisms.

Keyword(s): arthropod-borne transmission, biofilm, fleas, plague, Yersinia pestis
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2017-09-08
2025-04-30
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/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-micro-090816-093521
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“Fleaing” the Plague: Adaptations of Yersinia pestis to Its Insect Vector That Lead to Transmission*
Annual Review of Microbiology 71, 215 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-micro-090816-093521
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-micro-090816-093521
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-micro-090816-093521
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Supplementary Data

  • Supplemental Video 1: “Frustrated feeding,” repeated probing behavior of a blocked X. cheopis flea. Pulsations of the esophagus can be seen as the flea attempts to suck blood.

    Supplemental Video 2: Proventricular contractions and midgut peristalsis of an uninfected X. cheopis after feeding. The arrow points to the proventriculus.

  • Article Type: Review Article

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