Commonly used antibiotics are becoming less effective; therefore, the development of new antimicrobials that bacteria will not become resistant to is a necessity. One innovative strategy is to find antimicrobials that target virulence factors in bacteria. This strategy will reduce the selective pressure on the bacteria to mutate since virulence factors are often times not needed for growth. Some pathogenic bacteria including E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Chlamydia and Yersinia species utilize a type III secretion system (T3SS), which are needle-like structures on their surface used to inject host cells with toxins in order to evade our immune system and cause infection. Blocking the T3SS inhibits their ability to cause infection. Therefore, the T3SS is an ideal target for novel antimicrobials. For this Tapas Talk, I will share a novel assay that can be used to screen soil samples for Y. pestis T3SS inhibitors.