Invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) strains often have genetic differences compared to GAS strains from nonsterile sites. Invasive, "hypervirulent" GAS strains can arise from a noninvasive progenitor following subcutaneous inoculation in mice, but such emergence has been rarely characterized in humans. We used whole genome analyses of multiple GAS isolates from the same patient to document the molecular basis for emergence of a GAS strain with an invasive phenotype during human infection. In contrast to previous theories, we found that elimination of production of the cysteine protease SpeB was not necessary for emergence of GAS with an invasive, "hypervirulent" phenotype.
Keywords: bacterial pathogenesis; gene expression; group A Streptococcus; virulence; whole genome sequencing.