Architecture of the vir regulons of group A streptococci parallels opacity factor phenotype and M protein class

Abstract

Group A streptococci have traditionally been categorized into two broad groups based on the presence or absence of serum opacity factor (OF). Recent studies show that these two groups vary in a number of properties in addition to the OF phenotype, including sequence variations in the constant region of the antiphagocytic M protein genes, the presence or absence of immunoglobulin G Fc receptor proteins, and the presence or absence of multiple M protein-like genes situated in a tandem array. The M protein genes (emm) in OF- streptococcal strains are known to be part of a regulon of virulence-related genes controlled by the trans-acting positive regulatory gene, virR, situated just upstream of emm. In OF+ strains, however, the region adjacent to virR is occupied by an M protein-related, type IIa immunoglobulin G Fc receptor gene (fcrA), and the relative position of emm has not been determined. To further define the vir regulon in OF+ streptococci, we used the polymerase chain reaction to show that fcrA49 is situated immediately upstream of emm49 in the OF+ type 49 strain CS101. This result shows for the first time the separate identity and genetic linkage of these two genes in the vir regulon of an OF+ group A streptococcal strain and confirms our previous hypothesis that emm49 exists as the central gene in a trio of emm-like genes. Additionally, using DNA hybridizations, we found considerable sequence divergence between OF- and OF+ group A streptococci in virR and in the noncoding sequences between virR and the emm or fcrA expression site. We found, however, a high degree of sequence conservation in this region within each of the two groups of strains.