Increased Pilus Production Conferred by a Naturally Occurring Mutation Alters Host-Pathogen Interaction in Favor of Carriage in Streptococcus pyogenes.

ABSTRACT: Studies of the human pathogen group A Streptococcus (GAS) define the carrier phenotype to be an increased ability to adhere to and persist on epithelial surfaces and a decreased ability to cause disease. We tested the hypothesis that a single amino acid change (Arg135Gly) in a highly conserved sensor kinase (LiaS) of a poorly defined GAS regulatory system contributes to a carrier phenotype through increased pilus production. When introduced into an emm serotype-matched invasive strain, the carrier allele (the gene encoding the LiaS protein with an arginine-to-glycine change at position 135 [liaSR135G]) recapitulated a carrier phenotype defined by an increased ability to adhere to mucosal surfaces and a decreased ability to cause disease. Gene transcript analyses revealed that the liaS muta

SUBMITTER: Flores AR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5400840 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature