Table 1.

Characteristics and virulence of selected Y. pestis strains used in laboratory studies.

Strain	pgm*	pCD1**	pMT1	pPCP	Infection route	LD50 mice (References)	LD50 rats (References)
Y. pestis CO92	+	+	+	+	i.n.	2×104 (Airhart et al., 2008)	1.2×103 (Kolodziejek et al., 2010)
					s.c.	1.7 (Welkos et al., 1997)	<50 (Hinnebusch et al., 2011)
Y. pestis KIM5	−	+	+	+	s.c.	>107 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–
					i.v.	15 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–
Y. pestis KIM6	−	−	+	+	s.c.	>107 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–
					i.v.	>107 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–
Y. pestis KIM6+	+	−	+	+	s.c.	>107 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–
					i.v.	>107 (Une and Brubaker, 1984)	–

^*, biofilm-related loci;

^**, encodes Type Three Secretory System (T3SS). i.n., intranasal; s.c., subcutaneous; i.v., intravenous.