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Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6019-6027, Vol. 181, No. 19
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Identification of pel, a Streptococcus pyogenes Locus That Affects both Surface and Secreted Proteins

Zhuqing Li,^1, Darren D. Sledjeski,¹ Bernd Kreikemeyer,² Andreas Podbielski,² and Michael D. P. Boyle^1,*

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio 43614,¹ and Abteilung für Medizinische Mikrobiologie, University Klinik Ulm, 89081 Ulm, Germany²

Received 18 March 1999/Accepted 22 July 1999

A Tn917 insertion mutant of an M49 serotype, opacity factor-positive Streptococcus pyogenes, was isolated. It had the following phenotypes: decreased -hemolysis mediated by streptolysin S, reduction in the activity of a secreted cysteine protease and streptokinase, and an altered immunoglobulin and fibrinogen-binding phenotype. The site of insertion of Tn917 into the chromosome and the surrounding sequence, the pel region (pleiotropic effect locus), was determined. Phage A25 transduction confirmed that the pleiotropic changes in phenotype could be cotransduced with Tn917. The pel region was cloned and sequenced, and the transposon was found to be inserted upstream of a single open reading frame which led to a failure to transcribe a 500-base mRNA. The loss of this transcript decreased the transcription of emm and speB genes and reduced the secretion of streptokinase. Enhanced Pel expression from a nisin-inducible plasmid resulted in increased message levels for emm in a wild-type organism. Characterization of the pel mutant provides evidence for the coordinated regulation of secreted and surface proteins and suggests the existence of a new global regulatory factor in S. pyogenes.

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^* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Ohio, Health Education Building, 3055 Arlington Ave., Toledo, OH 43614-5806. Phone: (419) 383-4336. Fax: (419) 383-3002. E-mail: MBoyle{at}mco.edu.

Present address: Laboratory of Pathology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-1500.

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Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6019-6027, Vol. 181, No. 19
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

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