Researchers compared genetics of surviving individuals to those that died from sylvatic plague
Prairie dogs with certain genes have a better chance of surviving plague than others. Sylvatic plague, caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, has wiped out entire prairie dog populations in North America. Researchers had been studying an outbreak of the disease in Boulder County. Colorado, from 2006 to 2009. After trapping and sampling some of the surviving black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), the team of scientists took samples to look at their genome. They compared these genome sequences with prairie dogs that died during the plague. The team identified certain genetic variants associated with survival from sylvatic plague. In addition, the researchers determined that it could take about 25 generations for prairie dogs to develop immunity from plague.
