Survival protein A is essential for virulence in Yersinia pestis.

Abstract Plague is a highly pathogenic disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis . There is currently no vaccine available for prophylaxis and antibiotic resistant strains have been isolated, thus there is a need for the development of new countermeasures to treat this disease. Survival protein A (SurA) is a chaperone that has been linked to virulence in several species of bacteria, including the close relative Yersinia pseudotuberculosis . In this study, we aimed to evaluate the role of SurA in virulence of the highly pathogenic Y. pestis by creating an unmarked surA deletion mutant. The Y. pestis Δ surA mutant was found to be more susceptible to membrane perturbing agents and was completely avirulent in a mouse infection model when delivered up to 2.1 × 10 5  CFU by the subcutaneous route. This provides strong evidence that SurA would make a promising antimicrobial target.