A wolf in sheep’s clothing: plague bacteria reveal one of their virulence tricks

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A plagues protein. A structural image of the protein-protein complex formed when YpkA (green and pink) binds to the Rac1 protein of the host cell (yellow and purple)
A plague's protein. A structural image of the protein-protein complex formed when YpkA (green and pink) binds to the Rac1 protein of the host cell (yellow and purple)

The bacterium that causes the plague belongs to a virulent family of bacteria called Yersinia, a group that also includes a pathogen responsible for food poisoning. These bacteria insert into their host cells proteins and other virulence factors, which kill by — among other things — disrupting the cells' normal structure. One of these proteins, called YpkA, attacks a cell’s internal skeleton.


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