Molecular evolution of a multigene family in group A streptococci |
| |
Authors: | Hollingshead SK; Arnold J; Readdy TL; Bessen DE |
| |
Institution: | Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham. |
| |
Abstract: | The emm genes are members of a gene family in group A streptococci (GAS)
that encode for antiphagocytic cell-surface proteins and/or
immunoglobulin-binding proteins. Previously sequenced genes in this family
have been named "emm," "fcrA," "enn," "arp," "protH," and "mrp"; herein
they will be referred to as the "emm gene family." The genes in the emm
family are located in a cluster occupying 3-6 kb between the genes mry and
scpA on the chromosome of Streptococcus pyogenes. Most GAS strains contain
one to three tandemly arranged copies of emm-family genes in the cluster,
but the alleles within the cluster vary among different strains.
Phylogenetic analysis of the conserved sequences at the 3' end of these
genes differentiates all known members of this family into four
evolutionarily distinct emm subfamilies. As a starting point to analyze how
the different subfamilies are related evolutionarily, the structure of the
emm chromosomal region was mapped in a number of diverse GAS strains by
using subfamily-specific primers in the polymerase chain reaction. Nine
distinct chromosomal patterns of the genes in the emm gene cluster were
found. These nine chromosomal patterns support a model for the evolution of
the emm gene family in which gene duplication followed by sequence
divergence resulted in the generation of four major-gene subfamilies in
this locus.
|
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 Oxford 等数据库收录! |
|