This book addresses nearly every aspect of Y. pestis, approaching it from a new perspective. Topics covered include the history, epidemiology, physiology, ecology, genome, evolution, pathogenesis, host-pathogen interaction, big-data-driven research, vaccines, clinical aspects and future research trends. For centuries, scientists have sought to determine where Y. pestis, the most well-known bacterium and one that has caused a number of high-mortality epidemics throughout human history, comes from, what it is and how it causes the disease. This book works to answer these questions with the help of cutting-edge research results. It not only describes the history of plagues, but also stresses plagues' effects on human civilization and explores the interaction of Y. pestis with hosts, vectors and the environment to reveal the evolution and pathogenesis. The book offers a valuable guide for researchers and graduate students studying Y. pestis, and will also benefit researchers from other fields, such as infectious diseases, other pathogens and system biology, sharing key insights into bacterial pathogen studies.

Autorentext
Dr. Ruifu Yang is a professor at the Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology and the Chief-Scientist for National Basic Research Program (973 Program). He serves as the vice president for the Chinese Society for Microbiology. His research focuses on bacterial pathogenesis using genomics- and proteomics-based techniques. He has published more than 100 articles on international well-known journals, such as Nature Genetics, PNAS, BMC Microbiology. Dr. Andrey Anisimov is a professor and deputy director at State Research Center for Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, Russia.

Inhalt

Plague: a disease changed the path of human civilization.- Discovery of the plague pathogen: lessons learned.- Taxonomy of Yersinia pestis.- Physiology of Yersinia pestis.- Ecology of Yersinia pestis and epidemiology of plague.- Genome and evolution of Yersinia pestis.- Pathology and pathogenesis of plague.- Genetic regulation of Yersinia pestis.- *Yersinia pestis in the age of big data.- Immunology of Yersinia pestis infection.- Plague: clinics, diagnosis and treatment.- Plague vaccines: status and future.- Bacteriophages of Yersinia pestis.- Perspectives on Yersinia pestis*: a model for studying zoonotic pathogens.