Intraspecific Typing and Phylogeny of the Causative Agent of the Plague—The Microbe Yersinia pestis: Problems and Perspectives

Two approaches to typing (analysis of intraspecific diversity) and reconstruction of the phylogeny (evolutionary history) of the causative agent of the plague (the microbe Yersinia pestis )—molecular genetic (MG) and ecological (adaptationist, on the basis of host adaptation)—are considered. It is shown that each of the approaches has its advantages and disadvantages. MG typing of pathogen strains in the studied foci of the world made it possible to characterize up to 30 subspecies/genovariants of the plague microbe, but the phylogeny of the microbe built on the basis of this diversity contradicts some obvious environmental facts. The ecological scenario of the origin and evolution of the causative agent of the plague has no obvious contradictions, and as an evolutionarily based hypothesis, it should be taken into account in MG reconstructions of the phylogeny of the plague microbe. The prospect of research in this direction is seen in integrating molecular genetic (statistical) and ecological (adaptationist) approaches.