Mga (protein)


Mga is a DNA-binding protein that activates the expression of several important virulence genes in Streptococcus pyogenes in response to changing environmental conditions. The family also contains VirR like proteins which match only at the C-terminus.
Mga is a wide-reaching regulator, affecting gene expression in over 10% of the S. pyrogenes genome. The other large regulator of virulence in GAS is the CovR/S two-component system, which affects the expression of approximately 15% of the genome. The two systems are linked through another protein, RivR, and a small non-coding RNA RivX.