Written by the top Yersinia specialists, the book reviews the molecular biology of these important organisms and comprehensively covers recent advances in the field. Topics include genetic diversity in Y. pestis, quorum sensing, identification of virulence genes, regulation of virulence elements, superantigens, host invasion, host immune response, LPS structure and genetics, flagellar-dependent motility, flagellar-dependent protein secretion, iron or heme transport systems, Yersinia pathogenicity Islands, the Yop effector proteins, plasminogen activator (Pla), F1 antigen, and the conjugative plasmid pVM82.