possesses many virulence factors including a superantigen, adhesins, and secreted Yops (Yersinia outer proteins). Most of them are located on a plasmid called pYV (plasmid, Yersinia virulence).

Y. pseudotuberculosis can live extracellularly due to its formidable mechanisms of phagocytosis and opsonisation resistance through the expression of Yops and the type III pathway; yet, by limited pYV action, it can populate host cells,