Yersinia pestis

**Semantic type:** Bacterium

**Definition:** A species of facultatively anaerobic, Gram negative, rod shaped bacteria in the phylum Proteobacteria. This species is motile, positive for coagulase and fibrinolysin and negative for urease, indole, ornithine decarboxylase, oxidase, and pyrazinamidase. Some strains are able to ferment melibiose but none can metabolize sorbose, rhamnose, cellobiose, sucrose, or sorbitol. Y. pestis is found in rodents and fleas and is a pathogen that can cause pneumonic, septicemic and bubonic plague types in humans.

**Synonyms:** - Pasteurella pestis - Pasteurella pestis - YERSINIA PESTIS - YERSINIA PESTIS