Characterization of group A Streptococcus strains recovered from Mexican children with pharyngitis by automated DNA sequencing of virulence-related genes: Unexpectedly large variation in the gene (sic) encoding a complement- inhibiting protein

Luis M. Perea Mejia, Kathryn E. Stockbauer, Xi Pan, Alejandro Cravioto, James M. Musser

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

34 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sequence variation was studied in several target genes in 54 strains of group A Streptococcus (GAS) cultured from children with pharyngitis in Mexico City. Although 16 distinct emm alleles were identified, only 4 had not been previously described. Virtually all bacteria (31 of 33 [94%] with the streptococcal pyrogenic exotoxin gene (speA) had emm1-related, emm3, or emm6 alleles. The gene (sic) encoding an extracellular GAS protein that inhibits complement function was unusually variable among isolates with the emm1 family of alleles, with a total of seven variants identified. The data suggest that many GAS strains infecting Mexican children are genetically similar to organisms commonly encountered in the United States and western Europe. Sequence variation in the sic gene is useful for rapid differentiation among GAS isolates with the emm1 family of alleles.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3220-3224
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Clinical Microbiology
Volume35
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)

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