Influence of RD2 on gene expression in serotype M1 and M49 GAS isolates

We used RNA-Seq to assess how the presence/absence of the RD2 pathogenicity island influences global gene expression in the parental serotype M1 GAS isolate MGAS2221 and the parental serotype M49 isolate NZ131 The parental isolates (MGAS2221 and PGAS812 [also known as NZ131]) and derivatives containing the RD2 pathogenicity island (PGAS885 and PGAS890, respectively) were compared. Each strain was grown in triplicate in THY broth (37 degrees centigrade in 5% CO2) to the exponential phase of growth (O.D.600 of 0.5). Samples were taken and processed for RNA isolation.