Impact of orthologous gene replacement on the circuitry governing pilus gene transcription in streptococci.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The evolutionary history of several genes of the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes strongly suggests an origin in another species, acquired via replacement of the counterpart gene (ortholog) following a recombination event. An example of orthologous gene replacement is provided by the nra/rofA locus, which encodes a key regulator of pilus gene transcription. Of biological importance is the previous finding that the presence of the nra- and rofA-lineage alleles, which are approximately 35% divergent, correlates strongly with genetic markers for streptococcal infection at different tissue sites in the human host (skin, throat).

Methodology/principal findings

In this report, the impact of orthologous gene replacement targeting the nra/rofA locus is experiment

SUBMITTER: Lizano S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2565503 | biostudies-literature | 2008

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature