THE ROLE OF mutR GENE IN METABOLISM AND VIRULENCE OF emm12 GENOTYPE STREPTOCOCCUS PYOGENES STRAINS

Abstract

In the present study the functional role of the mutR regulatory protein gene of Streptococcus pyogenes (emm12) was studied. The mutR gene was inactivated in the strains no. 97 and no. 152 by insertional mutagenesis. Inactivation of the mutR gene was found to affect the dynamic and characteristics of bacterial growth in liquid medium. Expression of secreted nucleases was significantly lower in the mutant strains compared to the wild-type strains. Two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass-spectrometry revealed differences in expression of number of the proteins in mutant strainscompared to the wild-type strains. Inactivation of the mutR gene negatively affected capacity of S. pyogenes to adhere to human epithelial cells. Finally, the virulence properties of the no. 152[mutR] mutant strains were found to be 4,7-fold less compared to the strain no. 152, while the no. 97[mutR] mutant strain became avirulent compared to the strain no. 97 due to insertional inactivation of the mutR gene.

Keywords

• streptococcus pyogenes
• mutr
• transcriptional regulation
• metabolism
• virulence.