[Protein phosphorylation in the causative agent of plague].

The phenomenon of the reversible phosphorylation of proteins has been discovered in Y. pestis cells. Eight proteins with a molecular weight of 30-80 kilodaltons have been found capable of phosphorylation. The intensity of phosphorylation has been found to be influenced by the temperature of cultivation and the composition of the incubation medium. This newly found phenomenon of the chemical modification of proteins is supposed to play a certain role in the organization of rapid responses of the cell to changes in the environment.