CYP broth: a tool for Yersinia pestis isolation in ancient culture collections and field samples.

We developed a simple new selective LB-based medium, named CYP broth, suitable for recovering long-term stored Y. pestis subcultures and for isolation of Y. pestis strains from field-caught samples for the Plague surveillance. It aimed to inhibit the growth contaminating microorganisms and enrich Y. pestis growth through iron supplementation. The performance of CYP broth on microbial growth from different gram-negative and gram-positive strains from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC®) and other clinical isolates, field-caught rodent samples, and more importantly, on several vials of ancient Y. pestis subcultures was evaluated. Additionally, other pathogenic Yersinia species such as Y. pseudotuberculosis and Y. enterocolitica were also successfully isolated with CYP broth. Selectivity tests and bacterial growth performance on CYP broth (LB broth supplemented with Cefsulodine, Irgasan, Novobiocin, nystatin and ferrioxamine E) were evaluated in comparison with LB broth without additive; LB broth/CIN, LB broth/nystatin and with traditional agar media including LB agar without additive, and LB agar and Cefsulodin-Irgasan-Novobiocin Agar (CIN agar) supplemented with 50 µg/mL of nystatin. Of note, the CYP broth had a recovery twofold higher than those of the CIN supplemented media or other regular media. Additionally, selectivity tests and bacterial growth performance were also evaluated on CYP broth in the absence of ferrioxamine E. The cultures were incubated at 28 °C and visually inspected for microbiological growth analysis and O.D.625 nm measurement between 0 and 120 h. The presence and purity of Y. pestis growth were confirmed by bacteriophage and multiplex PCR tests. Altogether, CYP broth provides an enhanced growth of Y. pestis at 28 °C, while inhibiting contaminant microorganisms. The media is a simple, but powerful tool to improve the reactivation and decontamination of ancient Y. pestis culture collections and for the isolation of Y. pestis strains for the Plague surveillance from various backgrounds. KEY POINTS: • The newly described CYP broth improves the recuperation of ancient/contaminated Yersinia pestis culture collections • CYP broth was also efficient in reducing environmental contamination in field-capture samples, improving Y. pestis isolation • CYP broth can also be used for the isolation of Y. enterocolitica and Y. pseudotuberculosis.

Attenuation of Yersinia pestis fyuA Mutants Caused by Iron Uptake Inhibition and Decreased Survivability in Macrophages.

Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague, a deadly infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths throughout history. Obtaining iron from the host is very important for bacterial pathogenicity. Y. pestis possesses many iron uptake systems. Yersiniabactin (Ybt) plays a major role in iron uptake in vivo and in vitro, and in virulence toward mice as well. FyuA, a ß-barrel TonB-dependent outer membrane protein, serves as the receptor for Ybt. In this study, we examined the role of the fyuA gene in Y. pestis virulence using different challenging ways and explored the underlying mechanisms. The BALB/c mouse infection assay showed that the virulence of the mutant strains (ΔfyuA and ΔfyuAGCAdel) was lower when compared with that of the wild-type (WT) strain 201. Furthermore, the attenuation of virulence of the mutant strains via subcutaneous and intraperitoneal challenges was far greater than that via intravenous injection. Iron supplementation restored lethality during subcutaneous challenge with the two mutants. Thus, we speculated that the attenuated virulence of the mutant strains toward the mice may be caused by dysfunctional iron uptake. Moreover, ΔfyuA and ΔfyuAGCAdel strains exhibited lower survival rates in murine RAW264.7 macrophages, which might be another reason for the attenuation. We further explored the transcriptomic differences between the WT and mutant strains at different temperatures and found that the expressions of genes related to Ybt synthesis and its regulation were significantly downregulated in the mutant strains. This finding indicates that fyuA might exert a regulatory effect on Ybt. Additionally, the expressions of the components of the type III secretion system were unexpectedly upregulated in the mutants, which is inconsistent with the conventional view that the upregulation of the virulence genes enhances the virulence of the pathogens.

Antibiotic Therapy of Plague: A Review.

Plague-a deadly disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis-is still an international public health concern. There are three main clinical forms: bubonic plague, septicemic plague, and pulmonary plague. In all three forms, the symptoms appear suddenly and progress very rapidly. Early antibiotic therapy is essential for countering the disease. Several classes of antibiotics (e.g., tetracyclines, fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, chloramphenicol, rifamycin, and ß-lactams) are active in vitro against the majority of Y. pestis strains and have demonstrated efficacy in various animal models. However, some discrepancies have been reported. Hence, health authorities have approved and recommended several drugs for prophylactic or curative use. Only monotherapy is currently recommended; combination therapy has not shown any benefits in preclinical studies or case reports. Concerns about the emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of Y. pestis have led to the development of new classes of antibiotics and other therapeutics (e.g., LpxC inhibitors, cationic peptides, antivirulence drugs, predatory bacteria, phages, immunotherapy, host-directed therapy, and nutritional immunity). It is difficult to know which of the currently available treatments or therapeutics in development will be most effective for a given form of plague. This is due to the lack of standardization in preclinical studies, conflicting data from case reports, and the small number of clinical trials performed to date.

A historical evaluation of Chinese tongue diagnosis in the treatment of septicemic plague in the pre-antibiotic era, and as a new direction for revolutionary clinical research applications.

Chinese tongue diagnosis was initially developed to quickly and efficiently diagnose and prescribe medicine, while at the same time allowing the doctor to have minimal contact with the patient. At the time of its compiling, the spread of Yersinia pestis, often causing septicaemia and gangrene of the extremities, may have discouraged doctors to come in direct contact with their patients and take the pulse. However, in recent decades, modern developments in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, as well as the spread of antibiotics in conjunction with the advancements of microbiology, have overshadowed the original purpose of this methodology. Nevertheless, the fast approaching post-antibiotic era and the development of artificial intelligence may hold new applications for tongue diagnosis. This article focuses on the historical development of what is the world's earliest tongue diagnosis monograph, and discusses the directions that such knowledge may be used in future clinical research.

Crystal structure of Yersinia pestis virulence factor YfeA reveals two polyspecific metal-binding sites.

Gram-negative bacteria use siderophores, outer membrane receptors, inner membrane transporters and substrate-binding proteins (SBPs) to transport transition metals through the periplasm. The SBPs share a similar protein fold that has undergone significant structural evolution to communicate with a variety of differentially regulated transporters in the cell. In Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, YfeA (YPO2439, y1897), an SBP, is important for full virulence during mammalian infection. To better understand the role of YfeA in infection, crystal structures were determined under several environmental conditions with respect to transition-metal levels. Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and anomalous X-ray scattering data show that YfeA is polyspecific and can alter its substrate specificity. In minimal-media experiments, YfeA crystals grown after iron supplementation showed a threefold increase in iron fluorescence emission over the iron fluorescence emission from YfeA crystals grown from nutrient-rich conditions, and YfeA crystals grown after manganese supplementation during overexpression showed a fivefold increase in manganese fluorescence emission over the manganese fluorescence emission from YfeA crystals grown from nutrient-rich conditions. In all experiments, the YfeA crystals produced the strongest fluorescence emission from zinc and could not be manipulated otherwise. Additionally, this report documents the discovery of a novel surface metal-binding site that prefers to chelate zinc but can also bind manganese. Flexibility across YfeA crystal forms in three loops and a helix near the buried metal-binding site suggest that a structural rearrangement is required for metal loading and unloading.

In Vitro and In Vivo Activity of Omadacycline against Two Biothreat Pathogens, Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis.

The in vitro activity and in vivo efficacy of omadacycline (OMC) were evaluated against the causative pathogens of anthrax and plague, Bacillus anthracis and Yersinia pestis, respectively. MICs of OMC were determined by broth microdilution according to CLSI guidelines for 30 isolates each of Y. pestis and B. anthracis The in vivo efficacy of omadacycline was studied at a range of dosages in both a postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) murine model of anthrax and plague as well as in a delayed treatment model of inhalational anthrax. Omadacycline was active in vitro against Y. pestis (MIC90 of 1 µg/ml) and B. anthracis (MIC90 of 0.06 µg/ml). Omadacycline was less active in vitro than ciprofloxacin (CIP) against Y. pestis (CIP MIC90 of 0.03 µg/ml) but was more potent in vitro against B. anthracis (CIP MIC90 of 0.12 µg/ml). In the mouse model of infection, the survival curves for all treatment cohorts differed significantly from the vehicle control (P = 0.004). The median survival for the vehicle-treated controls was 6 days postchallenge, while all antibiotic-treated mice survived the entire study. Omadacycline treatment with 5, 10, or 20 mg/kg of body weight twice daily for 14 days had significant efficacy over the vehicle control in the treatment of aerosolized B. anthracis Additionally, for postexposure prophylaxis treatment of mice infected with Y. pestis, the survival curves for omadacycline (40 mg/kg twice daily), ciprofloxacin, and doxycycline cohorts differed significantly from the vehicle control (P < 0.0001). Omadacycline is potent and demonstrates efficacy against both B. anthracis and Y. pestis The well-characterized oral and intravenous pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability warrant further assessment of the potential utility of omadacycline in combating these serious biothreat organisms.

Early divergent strains of Yersinia pestis in Eurasia 5,000 years ago.

The bacteria Yersinia pestis is the etiological agent of plague and has caused human pandemics with millions of deaths in historic times. How and when it originated remains contentious. Here, we report the oldest direct evidence of Yersinia pestis identified by ancient DNA in human teeth from Asia and Europe dating from 2,800 to 5,000 years ago. By sequencing the genomes, we find that these ancient plague strains are basal to all known Yersinia pestis. We find the origins of the Yersinia pestis lineage to be at least two times older than previous estimates. We also identify a temporal sequence of genetic changes that lead to increased virulence and the emergence of the bubonic plague. Our results show that plague infection was endemic in the human populations of Eurasia at least 3,000 years before any historical recordings of pandemics.

Diseases Transmitted by Man's Worst Friend: the Rat.

Historically, the rat has been considered a scourge to mankind, for example, rats infected with the plague bacillus that caused the Black Death, which accounted for millions of deaths in Europe during the Middle Ages. At least three pandemics (in the 5th and 6th, 8th through 14th, and 19th through 21st centuries) of plague ravaged civilizations, and the disease undoubtedly plagued humankind prior to recorded history. Also, numerous other diseases are spread to humans by rats; thus, a quote from Hans Zinsser's text Rats, Lice, and History, "Man and rat will always be pitted against each other as implacable enemies," conveys the general revulsion that society holds for the wild rat.

Evaluation of imipenem for prophylaxis and therapy of Yersinia pestis delivered by aerosol in a mouse model of pneumonic plague.

It has been previously shown that mice subjected to an aerosol exposure to Yersinia pestis and treated with ß-lactam antibiotics after a delay of 42 h died at an accelerated rate compared to controls. It was hypothesized that endotoxin release in antibiotic-treated mice accounted for the accelerated death rate in the mice exposed to aerosol Y. pestis. Imipenem, a ß-lactam antibiotic, binds to penicillin binding protein 2 with the highest affinity and produces rounded cells. The binding of imipenem causes cells to lyse quickly and thereby to release less free endotoxin. Two imipenem regimens producing fractions of time that the concentration of free, unbound drug was above the MIC (fT>MIC) of approximately 25% (6/24 h) and 40% (9.5/24 h) were evaluated. In the postexposure prophylaxis study, the 40% and 25% regimens produced 90% and 40% survivorship, respectively. In the 42-h treatment study, both regimens demonstrated a 40 to 50% survivorship at therapy cessation and some deaths thereafter, resulting in a 30% survivorship. As this was an improvement over the results with other ß-lactams, a comparison of both endotoxin and cytokine levels in mice treated with imipenem and ceftazidime (a ß-lactam previously demonstrated to accelerate death in mice during treatment) was performed and supported the original hypotheses; however, the levels observed in animals treated with ciprofloxacin (included as an unrelated antibiotic that is also bactericidal but should cause little lysis due to a different mode of action) were elevated and significantly (7-fold) higher than those with ceftazidime.

Mutated and bacteriophage T4 nanoparticle arrayed F1-V immunogens from Yersinia pestis as next generation plague vaccines.

Pneumonic plague is a highly virulent infectious disease with 100% mortality rate, and its causative organism Yersinia pestis poses a serious threat for deliberate use as a bioterror agent. Currently, there is no FDA approved vaccine against plague. The polymeric bacterial capsular protein F1, a key component of the currently tested bivalent subunit vaccine consisting, in addition, of low calcium response V antigen, has high propensity to aggregate, thus affecting its purification and vaccine efficacy. We used two basic approaches, structure-based immunogen design and phage T4 nanoparticle delivery, to construct new plague vaccines that provided complete protection against pneumonic plague. The NH2-terminal ß-strand of F1 was transplanted to the COOH-terminus and the sequence flanking the ß-strand was duplicated to eliminate polymerization but to retain the T cell epitopes. The mutated F1 was fused to the V antigen, a key virulence factor that forms the tip of the type three secretion system (T3SS). The F1mut-V protein showed a dramatic switch in solubility, producing a completely soluble monomer. The F1mut-V was then arrayed on phage T4 nanoparticle via the small outer capsid protein, Soc. The F1mut-V monomer was robustly immunogenic and the T4-decorated F1mut-V without any adjuvant induced balanced TH1 and TH2 responses in mice. Inclusion of an oligomerization-deficient YscF, another component of the T3SS, showed a slight enhancement in the potency of F1-V vaccine, while deletion of the putative immunomodulatory sequence of the V antigen did not improve the vaccine efficacy. Both the soluble (purified F1mut-V mixed with alhydrogel) and T4 decorated F1mut-V (no adjuvant) provided 100% protection to mice and rats against pneumonic plague evoked by high doses of Y. pestis CO92. These novel platforms might lead to efficacious and easily manufacturable next generation plague vaccines.

Manganese transporters Yfe and MntH are Fur-regulated and important for the virulence of Yersinia pestis.

Yersinia pestis has a flea-mammal-flea transmission cycle, and is a zoonotic pathogen that causes the systemic diseases bubonic and septicaemic plague in rodents and humans, as well as pneumonic plague in humans and non-human primates. Bubonic and pneumonic plague are quite different diseases that result from different routes of infection. Manganese (Mn) acquisition is critical for the growth and pathogenesis of a number of bacteria. The Yfe/Sit and/or MntH systems are the two prominent Mn transporters in Gram-negative bacteria. Previously we showed that the Y. pestis Yfe system transports Fe and Mn. Here we demonstrate that a mutation in yfe or mntH did not significantly affect in vitro aerobic growth under Mn-deficient conditions. A yfe mntH double mutant did exhibit a moderate growth defect which was alleviated by supplementation with Mn. No short-term energy-dependent uptake of (54)Mn was observed in this double mutant. Like the yfeA promoter, the mntH promoter was repressed by both Mn and Fe via Fur. Sequences upstream of the Fur binding sequence in the yfeA promoter converted an iron-repressible promoter to one that is also repressed by Mn and Fe. To our knowledge, this is the first report identifying cis promoter elements needed to alter cation specificities involved in transcriptional repression. Finally, the Y. pestis yfe mntH double mutant had an ~133-fold loss of virulence in a mouse model of bubonic plague but no virulence loss in the pneumonic plague model. This suggests that Mn availability, bacterial Mn requirements or Mn transporters used by Y. pestis are different in the lungs (pneumonic plague) compared with systemic disease.

Lack of antimicrobial resistance in Yersinia pestis isolates from 17 countries in the Americas, Africa, and Asia.

Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague, a fulminant disease that is often fatal without antimicrobial treatment. Plasmid (IncA/C)-mediated multidrug resistance in Y. pestis was reported in 1995 in Madagascar and has generated considerable public health concern, most recently because of the identification of IncA/C multidrug-resistant plasmids in other zoonotic pathogens. Here, we demonstrate no resistance in 392 Y. pestis isolates from 17 countries to eight antimicrobials used for treatment or prophylaxis of plague.

Efficacy of ciprofloxacin-gentamicin combination therapy in murine bubonic plague.

Potential benefits of combination antibiotic therapy for the treatment of plague have never been evaluated. We compared the efficacy of a ciprofloxacin (CIN) and gentamicin (GEN) combination therapy with that of each antibiotic administered alone (i) against Yersinia pestis in vitro and (ii) in a mouse model of bubonic plague in which animals were intravenously injected with antibiotics for five days, starting at two different times after infection (44 h and 56 h). In vitro, the CIN+GEN combination was synergistic at 0.5x the individual drugs' MICs and indifferent at 1x- or 2x MIC. In vivo, the survival rate for mice treated with CIN+GEN was similar to that observed with CIN alone and slightly higher than that observed for GEN alone 100, 100 and 85%, respectively when treatment was started 44 h post challenge. 100% of survivors were recorded in the CIN+GEN group vs 86 and 83% in the CIN and GEN groups, respectively when treatment was delayed to 56 h post-challenge. However, these differences were not statistically significant. Five days after the end of treatment, Y. pestis were observed in lymph nodes draining the inoculation site (but not in the spleen) in surviving mice in each of the three groups. The median lymph node log(10) CFU recovered from persistently infected lymph nodes was significantly higher with GEN than with CIN (5.8 vs. 3.2, p = 0.04) or CIN+GEN (5.8 vs. 2.8, p = 0.01). Taken as the whole, our data show that CIN+GEN combination is as effective as CIN alone but, regimens containing CIN are more effective to eradicate Y. pestis from the draining lymph node than the recommended GEN monotherapy. Moreover, draining lymph nodes may serve as a reservoir for the continued release of Y. pestis into the blood - even after five days of intravenous antibiotic treatment.

Znu is the predominant zinc importer in Yersinia pestis during in vitro growth but is not essential for virulence.

Little is known about Zn homeostasis in Yersinia pestis, the plague bacillus. The Znu ABC transporter is essential for zinc (Zn) uptake and virulence in a number of bacterial pathogens. Bioinformatics analysis identified ZnuABC as the only apparent high-affinity Zn uptake system in Y. pestis. Mutation of znuACB caused a growth defect in Chelex-100-treated PMH2 growth medium, which was alleviated by supplementation with submicromolar concentrations of Zn. Use of transcriptional reporters confirmed that Zur mediated Zn-dependent repression and that it can repress gene expression in response to Zn even in the absence of Znu. Virulence testing in mouse models of bubonic and pneumonic plague found only a modest increase in survival in low-dose infections by the znuACB mutant. Previous studies of cluster 9 (C9) transporters suggested that Yfe, a well-characterized C9 importer for manganese (Mn) and iron in Y. pestis, might function as a second, high-affinity Zn uptake system. Isothermal titration calorimetry revealed that YfeA, the solute-binding protein component of Yfe, binds Mn and Zn with comparably high affinities (dissociation constants of 17.8 ± 4.4 nM and 6.6 ± 1.2 nM, respectively), although the complete Yfe transporter could not compensate for the loss of Znu in in vitro growth studies. Unexpectedly, overexpression of Yfe interfered with the znu mutant's ability to grow in low concentrations of Zn, while excess Zn interfered with the ability of Yfe to import iron at low concentrations; these results suggest that YfeA can bind Zn in the bacterial cell but that Yfe is incompetent for transport of the metal. In addition to Yfe, we have now eliminated MntH, FetMP, Efe, Feo, a substrate-binding protein, and a putative nickel transporter as the unidentified, secondary Zn transporter in Y. pestis. Unlike other bacterial pathogens, Y. pestis does not require Znu for high-level infectivity and virulence; instead, it appears to possess a novel class of transporter, which can satisfy the bacterium's Zn requirements under in vivo metal-limiting conditions. Our studies also underscore the need for bacterial cells to balance binding and transporter specificities within the periplasm in order to maintain transition metal homeostasis.

Biosafety level 2 model of pneumonic plague and protection studies with F1 and Psa.

Attenuated Yersinia pestis pgm strains, such as KIM5, lack the siderophore yersiniabactin. Strain KIM5 does not induce significant pneumonia when delivered intranasally. In this study, mice were found to develop pneumonia after intranasal challenge with strain KIM5 when they were injected intraperitoneally with iron dextran, though not with iron sulfate. KIM5-infected mice treated daily with 4 mg iron dextran died in 3 days with severe pneumonia. Pneumonia was less severe if 4 mg iron dextran was administered only once before infection. The best-studied experimental vaccine against plague currently consists of the Yersinia pestis capsular antigen F1 and the type 3 secreted protein LcrV. The F1 antigen was shown to be protective against KIM5 infections in mice administered iron dextran doses leading to light or severe pneumonia, supporting the use of an iron dextran-treated model of pneumonic plague. Since F1 has been reported to be incompletely protective in some primates, and bacterial isolates lacking F1 are still virulent, there has been considerable interest in identifying additional protective subunit immunogens. Here we showed that the highly conserved Psa fimbriae of Y. pestis (also called pH 6 antigen) are expressed in murine organs after infection through the respiratory tract. Studies with iron dextran-treated mice showed that vaccination with the Psa fimbrial protein together with an adjuvant afforded incomplete but significant protection in the mouse model described. Therefore, further investigations to fully characterize the protective properties of the Psa fimbriae are warranted.

Lipid A mimetics are potent adjuvants for an intranasal pneumonic plague vaccine.

An effective intranasal (i.n.) vaccine against pneumonic plague was developed. The formulation employed two synthetic lipid A mimetics as adjuvant combined with Yersinia pestis-derived V- and F1-protective antigens. The two nontoxic lipid A mimetics, classed as amino-alkyl glucosaminide 4-phosphates (AGPs) are potent ligands for the Toll-like receptor (TLR) 4. Using a murine (BALB/c) pneumonic plague model, we showed a single i.n. application of the vaccine provided 63% protection within 21 days against a Y. pestis CO92 100 LD50 challenge. Protection reached 100% by 150 days. Using a homologous i.n. 1 degrees /2 degrees dose regimen, with the boost administered at varying times, 63% protection was achieved within 7 days and 100% protection was achieved by 21 days after the first immunization. Little or no protection was observed in animals that received antigens alone, and no protection was observed when the vaccine was administered to BALB/c TLR4 mutant mice. Vaccine-induced serum IgG titers to F1 and V-antigen were reflected in high titers for IgG1 and IgG2a, the latter reflecting a bias for a cell-mediated (TH1) immune response. This intranasal vaccine showed 90% protection in Sprague-Dawley rats challenged with 1000 LD50. We conclude that lipid A mimetics are highly effective adjuvants for an i.n. plague vaccine.

Comparison of 2 antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis for the treatment of infection with Yersinia pestis delivered by aerosol in a mouse model of pneumonic plague.

INTRODUCTION: Intentional release of Yersinia pestis will likely be propagated by aerosol exposure. We explored the effects of neutropenia on the outcome of doxycycline and gentamicin therapy. METHODS: Female BALB/c mice were exposed to 20 LD(50) of Y. pestis CO92 by aerosol. Treatments were saline (negative control), levofloxacin at 15 mg/kg every 12 h (positive control), doxycycline at 40 mg/kg every 6 h, and gentamicin at 12 mg/kg every 6 h, 24 mg/kg every 12 h, and 48 mg/kg every 24 h in cohorts of normal and neutropenic mice for 5 days. RESULTS: Control mice died. Positive control mice (levofloxacin) had 100% survivorship in both neutropenic and nonneutropenic groups. Doxycycline treatment in the presence of granulocytes yielded 90% survivorship; all neutropenic mice died after the termination of treatment (P<<.001). For gentamicin, survivorship of mice receiving drug every 24, 12, and 6 h was, respectively, 80%, 80%, and 90% for normal mice and 80%, 100%, and 70% for neutropenic mice. No significant differences were seen in the neutropenia versus normal mouse comparison or by schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Doxycycline behaves in vivo as a bacteriostatic drug, requiring an intact immune system for clearance of the infection after aerosol challenge with Y. pestis. Gentamicin is bactericidal, even when given on a daily schedule. Neutropenia did not significantly affect survivorship.

Impact of resistance selection and mutant growth fitness on the relative efficacies of streptomycin and levofloxacin for plague therapy.

Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, is a potential agent of biowarfare and bioterrorism. The aminoglycoside antibiotic streptomycin is the gold standard for treatment. However, this recommendation is based on scant animal and clinical data. We used an in vitro pharmacodynamic infection model to compare the efficacies of 10-day regimens of streptomycin versus the fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin for the treatment of Y. pestis infection and to evaluate for emergence of resistance. The human serum concentration-time profiles for standard clinical regimens of 1 g of streptomycin given every 12 h and 500 mg of levofloxacin given every 24 h were simulated. The growth fitness of drug-resistant mutants was examined in neutropenic and immunocompetent mouse thigh infection models. In the in vitro infection system, untreated bacteria grew from 10(7) to 10(10) CFU/ml. Streptomycin therapy caused a 10(5) CFU/ml reduction in the number of bacteria over 24 h, followed by regrowth with streptomycin-resistant mutants. Levofloxacin resulted in a 10(7) CFU/ml reduction in the number of bacteria within 12 h, ultimately sterilizing the culture without resistance selection. In both the normal and neutropenic mouse infection models, streptomycin-resistant and wild-type strains were equally fit. However, 90% of levofloxacin-resistant isolates, cultured from the control in vitro infection arm, did not proliferate in the mouse models. Thus, the fluoroquinolone antibiotic levofloxacin was superior to streptomycin in our in vitro infection model. The majority of levofloxacin-resistant mutants were less fit than streptomycin-resistant and wild-type Y. pestis.