title: Identification of a Yersinia pestis-specific DNA probe with potential for use in plague surveillance.
abstract: A 900-base-pair DNA fragment derived from a 9.5-kilobase plasmid in Yersinia pestis hybridized specifically with Y. pestis DNA. We demonstrated the feasibility of using this DNA fragment to detect plague bacilli directly in fleas, suggesting that this Y. pestis-specific DNA probe may be used for plague surveillance in the field. Additional applications for this DNA probe may include plague diagnosis and pathogenesis research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, Stanford University, California 94305.
authors.forename: K A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: McDonough
authors.forename: T G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Schwan
authors.forename: R E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Falkow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D004175:Diptera / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D010930:Plague / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010957:Plasmids; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity
chemical_list: D015342:DNA Probes; D004269:DNA, Bacterial