[Iron assimilation by Yersinia pestis on iron-deficient media].

The growth of plague bacteria may be limited by the level of iron concentration in the nutrient medium. The virulent strains of the plague microbe possess the more pronounced mechanism of iron assimilation as compared to the vaccine strain. The iron ions are extracted by the virulent and vaccine strains only under the cell surface contact with the iron-saturated transferrin. The iron-sorbing function is peculiar to the plague microbe cell walls which is pronounced more strongly in the virulent strains.