Environmental modulation of gene expression and pathogenesis in Yersinia.

The yersiniae are a useful model for understanding how environmental modulation of gene expression allows pathogens to inhabit a wide range of niches. This review follows the enteropathogenic yersiniae, Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis, and the agent of plague, Yersinia pestis, through their life cycles, describing how adaptive gene expression may promote successful pathogenesis.