TABLE 1.

Major distinctions between the plague and enteropothogenic traditions of yersiniology

Tradition	Most effective innate mechanism of control	Consequence of uptake by macrophages	Host cell invasin(s)	Tissue invasin	Host cell adhesion	Typical route of transmission	Major anti-inflammatory activities	Favored in vivo nicheb	Primary role of Yops	Function performed by anti-LcrV to facilitate specific immunity
Plague	Formation of granulomas	None	Aila	Pla	Unknown	Flea	LcrV	Visceral organs	Facilitates tissue necrosis	Prevents systemic upregulation of IL-10, thereby permitting inflammation
Enteropathogenic	Phagocytosis	Death	Inv, Ail	None	YadA	Fecal contamination	YopP/YopJ, YopH	Lymphatic tissue or small intestine	Prevents phagocytosis	Inhibits Yop translocation, thereby permitting normal phagocytosis

^aAbsent in some (9) but not all (36, 74) strains.

^bAnatomical location that supports bulk vegetative growth during infection.