Cryptic prophages within a <i>Streptococcus pyogenes</i> genotype <i>emm</i>4 lineage.

ABSTRACT: The major human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes shares an intimate evolutionary history with mobile genetic elements, which in many cases carry genes encoding bacterial virulence factors. During recent whole-genome sequencing of a longitudinal sample of S. pyogenes isolates in England, we identified a lineage within emm4 that clustered with the reference genome MEW427. Like MEW427, this lineage was characterized by substantial gene loss within all three prophage regions, compared to MGAS10750 and isolates outside of the MEW427-like lineage. Gene loss primarily affected lysogeny, replicative and regulatory modules, and to a lesser and more variable extent, structural genes. Importantly, prophage-encoded superantigen and DNase genes were retained in all isolates. In isol

SUBMITTER: Remmington A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8115907 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature