title: 'Add, stir and reduce': Yersinia spp. as model bacteria for pathogen evolution.
abstract: Pathogenic species in the Yersinia genus have historically been targets for research aimed at understanding how bacteria evolve into mammalian pathogens. The advent of large-scale population genomic studies has greatly accelerated the progress in this field, and Yersinia pestis, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia enterocolitica have once again acted as model organisms to help shape our understanding of the evolutionary processes involved in pathogenesis. In this Review, we highlight the gene gain, gene loss and genome rearrangement events that have been identified by genomic studies in pathogenic Yersinia species, and we discuss how these findings are changing our understanding of pathogen evolution. Finally, as these traits are also found in the genomes of other species in the Enterobacteriaceae, we suggest that they provide a blueprint for the evolution of enteropathogenic bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Research Group, Nottingham Trent University, Clifton Lane, Nottingham NG11 8NS, UK.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.affiliation: Pathogen Genomics, Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK.
authors.forename: Nicholas R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Box 157 Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reuter
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathogen Molecular Biology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK.
authors.forename: Brendan W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Wren
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000382:microbiology*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D018085:Regulon; D015007:Yersinia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015009:Yersinia Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D015008:Yersinia enterocolitica / Q000235:genetics; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000235:genetics; D015011:Yersinia pseudotuberculosis / Q000235:genetics