Genetic Variability of the Emm-related Gene of the Large Vir Regulon of Group A Streptococci: Potential Intra- and Intergenomic Recombination Events

Overview

Journal Mol Gen Genet

Specialties Genetics
Molecular Biology

Date 1994 Jun 15

PMID 8028586

Citations 4

Authors

A Podbielski

B Krebs

A Kaufhold

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

One of the most prevalent genetic lineages of group A streptococci (GAS) harbors a genomic locus termed the large vir regulon, which contains an emm gene encoding the antiphagocytic M protein, and structurally related fcrA and enn (emm-related) genes encoding immunoglobulin-binding proteins. In the present study more than 100 large vir regulons from 42 different GAS serotypes were analyzed by PCR and partial DNA sequencing. On comparing these data to published sequences, sites of mutational and putative recombinational events were identified and ordered with respect to their intra/intergenic or intra/intergenomic nature. The emm-related genes were found to display small intragenic deletions or insertions, were completely deleted from, or newly inserted into the genome, or were fused to adjacent genes. Intergenomic exchanges of complete emm-related genes, or segments thereof, between different vir regulons were detected. Most of these processes seem to involve short flanking direct repeats. Occasionally, the structural changes could be correlated with changes in the functions of the encoded proteins.

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