Tehran University of Medical Sciences Iranian Journal of Public Health 2251-6085 47 1 2017 12 31 86 94 Mehdi ASSMAR Dept. of Parasitology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Marjan KEYPOUR Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran AND National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Hamadan, Iran Mehdi ROHANI National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Hamadan, Iran AND Dept. of Microbiology, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran Ehsan MOSTAFAVI Dept. of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Center for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Tehran, Iran AND National Reference Laboratory for Plague, Tularemia and Q Fever, Research Centre for Emerging and Reemerging Infectious Diseases, Pasteur Institute of Iran, Hamadan, Iran Dariush DANESHVAR FARHUD School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran AND Dept. of Basic Sciences/Ethics, Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2017 12 31 2017 12 31 Background: The present study was conducted approximately 40 years ago, but its results have not been released. At the time of this study, the importance of the gut microbiota was not fully understood. Methods: Meriones persicus rodents, as one of the major reservoirs of Yersinia pestis bacterium in Iran, were compared in a disease endemic area (Akanlu, Hamadan, western Iran) and a non-endemic zone (Telo, Tehran, Iran) from 1977 to1981. Results: This study was able to transmit the resistance to Y. pestis to other rodents creatively by using and transferring gut microbiota. Conclusion: The study indicated for the first time that the gut microbiota could affect the sensitivity to plague in Meriones in Telo.   https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/view/12050 https://ijph.tums.ac.ir/index.php/ijph/article/download/12050/5875