TABLE 6.

Taxonomic characters of strains which distinguish different Y. pestis subspecies isolated in the territory of the FSU and Mongolia, and compliance of subspecies with biovars^a

Y. pestis subspecies	Fermentation of:					Nitrate reduction	Urease activity	Pesticin 1 production	Susceptibility to pesticin 1	Fibrinolytic activity	Coagulase activity	Dependence on nutrition factors								Virulence for guinea pigs	Region of circulation	Host(s)	Biovar
	Rhamnose	Mellbiose	Arabinose	Glycerol	Melezitose							Leucine	Methionine	Arginine	Thiamine	Cysteine	Pnenylalanine	Threonine	Tyrosine
pestis (main)	−	−	+	±	−	±	−	+	−	+	+	±	+	−	−	±	±	+	−	+	Central Africa, central and northern Asia, China (Manchuria), Mongolia	Rodents of genera Marmota, Citellus, Meriones, Rattus, etc.	Antiqua
altaica	+	+	−	+	?	−	−	+	+	+	+	+	−	+	−	+	+	?	?	−	Mountain Altai	Ochotona pricei	Medievalis
caucasicab	+	+	+	+	−	+	−	−	+	−	−	±	+	+	+	±	+	+	?	−	Transcaucasian highland, Mountain Dagestan	Microtus arvalis	Antiqua
hissarica	+	+	−	+	±	−	±	+	±	+	+	+	+	−	−	+	+	−	−	−	Hissarian Ridge	Microtus carruthersi	Medievalis
ulegeica	+	+	+	+	?	−	−	+	±c	+	+	−	−	−	−	+	+	?	?	−	Northeast Mongolia, Gobi Desert	Ochotona pricei	Medievalis
talassica	+	+	−	+	−	−	+	+	−	+	+	+	?	+	?	+	+	?	+	−	Talassian Ridge	Microtus gregalisd	Medievalis

^aThis table was compiled from references 11, 52, and 169, modified from reference 11, and used with the permission of the copyright holder (G. P. Aparin and E. P. Golubinskii). Symbols: −, absence of a character; +, presence of a character; ±, presence of a character but not in all strains; ?, no data.

^bStrains from subspecies caucasica are deficient in plasmid pPst

^cStrains are susceptible to pesticin of strains from subspecies pestis and altaica and also resistant to pesticin from strains of its own subspecies.

^dThere is an opinion (169, 174) that the main host in this focus may be Marmota caudata.