Abstract
The ability to form biofilms (“bacterial lumps” and “blocks”) by strains of different subspecies of Y. pestis in the body of the flea X. cheopis was studied. It was found that strains of the main subspecies form a biofilm almost three times more often than strains of the non-main subspecies – altaica and ulegeica (14.8±2.50 vs. 5.4±1.10). These differences were mainly due to the formation of “blocks” (9.2±1.66 vs. 1.6±0.45), rather than “bacterial lumps” (5.6±1.40 vs. 3.8±0.83). For X. cheopis fleas, infection with strains of the main subspecies in most cases leads to the predominance of massive forms of biofilm – “blocks” – aggregation index >1. When infecting with non-main subspecies pathogen from Central Asian natural foci, the persistence of the microbe in X. cheopis fleas usually occurs in the form of “lumps” and the aggregation index does not exceed 1. The success of transmission by fleas of this species is ensured not by the total number of blocked individuals, but by their presence and, accordingly, by probable blood-sucking during feeding.
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