[Comparative genetics of representatives of the genus Yersinia and evolution of their pathogenicity]

This paper was prepared on the basis of a report presented at the first Congress of the All-Russian Society of Geneticists and Breeders (December 1994, Saratov, Russia). Analysis of published data and the authors' own investigations enabled them to propose a concept of evolution of pathogenicity within the Yersinia genus. They concluded that phenotypic features conferred by yersinia plasmids should be considered taxonomic traits.