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Group A "Streptococcus" (GAS) bacteria have acquired virulence factors from bacteriophage, according to Stephen Beres and James Musser of Rocky Mountain National Laboratories (903 South 4th St., Hamilton, MT 59840; Tel: 406/363-9255, Fax: 406/363-9371). Their work, in collaboration with other colleagues, is reported in an article recently posted online in the Proceedings of National Science Foundation Early Edition.
GAS bacteria are common microbes that cause a variety of nasty diseases, including strep throat, wound infections, toxic shock, "flesh-eating" disease, scarlet fever, rheumatic fever, and kidney ailments. Musser and Beres seek to understand why some GAS strains cause severe infections while others lead to milder illnesses. By comparing the complete genomes of bacterial strains isolated from people with different GAS infections, the researchers hope to identify specific genes linked with individual diseases.
In their most recent study, the Rocky Mountain researchers determined the complete genetic sequence of an M3 GAS strain isolated from a person with toxic shock syndrome. M3 strains are known for causing extremely invasive infections leading to an unusually high degree of severe illness and death. The M3 strain genome contains more than 1.9 million base ...