Legend: + positive 90-100%, - negative 90-100%, [+] positive 75-89%, [-] negative 75-89%, d positive 25-74%.
Non-pathogenic or opportunistic pathogen.
Taxonomy
Morphology
Cultural characteristics
Biochemical characters
Ecology
Pathogenicity
References
Phylum Proteobacteria, Class Gammaproteobacteria, Order Enterobacterales, Family Yersiniaceae, Genus Yersinia, Yersinia
frederiksenii Ursing et al. 1981.
Gram-negative, bipolar, 1.0-3.0 x 0.5-0.8 μm rods. Motile in vitro, but nonmotile in vivo.
Non-motile at 37 ºC, but motile with 2-15 peritrichous flagella when grown below 30
ºC. Capsule or spores are not produced.
Small, gray-white, opaque, irregular colonies, 0.1 to 1.0 mm in diameter after 24
hours incubation.
Facultatively anaerobic, optimum growth temperature 28 ºC. Grow very slowly at 4 ºC
(1-3 weeks). Media: Nutrient Agar or Nutrient Broth, Trypticase Soy Agar ± 5% sheep
blood, Mac Conkey.
Isolated mainly from fresh water sources, fish, foods, and occasionally from healthy or sick humans and animals.
Resistant to penicillin and slightly susceptible or resistant to other beta-lactam antibiotics (ampicillin, carbenicillin, cephalothin). The
level of resistance is strain-dependent and temperature-dependent.
- J. G. Holt et al., 1994. Facultatively Anaerobic Gram-Negative Rods. Subgroup 1. Family Enterobacteriaceae. In: Begey’s Manual of
Determinative Bacteriology, 9th-edition, Williams & Wilkins, pp 175-189.
- Bercovier H., Steigerwalt A.G.) Guiyoule A., Huntley-Carter G. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia aldovae (formerly Yersinia enterocolitica-like
group X2): a new species of Enterobacteriaceae isolated from aquatic ecosystems. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1984, 34, 166-172.
- Sprague L.D. & Neubauer H.: Yersinia aleksiciae sp. nov. Int. J. Syst. Evol. Microbiol., 2005, 55, 831-835.
- Frederiksen W.: A study of some Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-like bacteria (Bacterium enterocoliticum and Pasteurella X).
Proceedings of the XIV Scandinavian Congress of Pathology and Microbiology, Oslo 1964, Norwegian Universities Press, Oslo,
1964, pp. 103-104.
- Neubauer H., Aleksic S., Hensel A., Finke E.J. & Meyer H.: Yersinia enterocolitica 16S rRNA gene types belong to the same
genospecies but form three homology groups. Int. J. Med. Microbiol., 2000, 290, 61-64.
- Ursing J., Brenner D.J., Bercovier H., Fanning G.R., Steigerwalt A.G., Brault J. & Mollaret H.H.: Yersinia frederiksenii: a new species
of Enterobacteriaceae composed of rhamnose-positive strains (formerly called atypical Yersinia enterocolitica or Yersinia
enterocolitica-like). Curr. Microbiol., 1980, 4, 213-217.
- Brenner D.J., Bercovier H., Ursing J., Alonso J.M., Steigerwalt A.G., Fanning G.R., Carter G.P. & Mollaret H.H.: Yersinia intermedia:
a new species of Enterobacteriaceae composed of rhamnose-positive, melibiose-positive, raffinose-positive strains (formerly
called Yersinia enterocolitica or Yersinia enterocolitica-like). Curr. Microbiol., 1980, 4, 207-212.
- Wauters G., Janssens M., Steigerwalt A.G. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia mollaretii sp. nov. and Yersinia bercovieri sp. nov., formerly
called Yersinia enterocolitica biogroups 3A and 3B. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1988, 38, 424-429.
- JUDICIAL OPINION 60: Rejection of the name Yersinia pseudotuberculosis subsp. pestis (van Loghem) Bercovier et al. 1981 and
conservation of the name Yersinia pestis (Lehmann and Neumann) van Loghem 1944 for the plague bacillus. Int. J. Syst.
Bacteriol., 1985, 35, 540
- Hollis D.G., Weaver R.E., Steigerwalt A.G., Wenger J.D., Moss C.W. & Brenner D.J.: Francisella philomiragia comb. nov. (formerly
Yersinia philomiragia) and Francisella tularensis biogroup novicida (formerly Francisella novicida) associated with human
disease. J. Clin. Microbiol., 1989, 27, 1601-1608.
- Aleksic S., Steigerwalt A.G., Bockemuhl J., Hunrley-Carter G.P. & Brenner D.J.: Yersinia rohdei sp. nov. isolated from human and
dog feces and surface water. Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol., 1987, 37, 327-332.
- Ewing W.H., Ross A.J., Brenner D.J. & Fanning G.R.: Yersinia ruckeri sp. nov., the redmouth (RM) bacterium. International Journal
of Systematic Bacteriology, 1978, 28, 37-44.
- Vicky Merhej, Toïdi Adékambi, Isabelle Pagnier, Didier Raoult, and Michel Drancourt: Yersinia massiliensis sp. nov., isolated from
fresh water. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol April 2008 58:779-784.
- Lisa D. Sprague, Holger C. Scholz, Sabine Amann, H.-J. Busse, and Heinrich Neubauer: Yersinia similis sp. nov., Int J Syst Evol
Microbiol April 2008 58:952-958.
- Don J. Brenner and J.J. Farmer III, 2001. Family I. Enterobacteriaceae. In: Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology, Second
edition, Vol two, part B, George M. Garrity (Editor-in-Chief), pp 587-897.
- Roberto A. Souza, Deise P. Falcão, Juliana P. Falcão: Emended description of Yersinia massiliensis. International Journal of
Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 61: 1094-1097, 2011.
- Adeolu M, Alnajar S, Naushad S, S Gupta R. Genome-based phylogeny and taxonomy of the 'Enterobacteriales': proposal for
Enterobacterales ord. nov. divided into the families Enterobacteriaceae, Erwiniaceae fam. nov., Pectobacteriaceae fam. nov.,
Yersiniaceae fam. nov., Hafniaceae fam. nov., Morganellaceae fam. nov., and Budviciaceae fam. nov. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol
2016; 66:5575-5599.
Some tests results may be negative at 37 ºC; optimum temperature is 28 ºC.
Three genomospecies reported one (including the type strain) is positive for beta-xylosidase and citrate (Simmons), the other two
groups are variable or negative for these tests.
Positive results for catalase, nitrates reduction, pyrazinamidase, acid production from arabinose, glucose (usually without gas),
D-mannitol, D-mannose, sorbose, sorbitol, and trehalose.
Negative results for oxidase, arginine dihydrolase, lysine decarboxylase, DN-ase, H2S production, Voges-Proskauer reaction,
phenylalanine deaminase, gelatin hydrolysis, growth on KCN medium, malonate utilization, acid production from: lactose,
meso-inositol, dulcitol, mucate, erythritol and adonitol.
Variable results for Simmons' citrate.
(c) Costin Stoica
Differential characters: