Yersinia pestis, which evolved from a gastrointestinal pathogen, causes pneumonic and bubonic plague. Here Zimbler et al. show that the gain of a single protein enabled Y. pestisto first cause pneumonic plague, and one amino-acid change in the same protein then allowed the bacteria to efficiently cause bubonic plague.
- Daniel L. Zimbler
- Jay A. Schroeder
- Wyndham W. Lathem
