Abstract
Streptococcus pyogenes, also known as Group A Streptococcus (GAS), is a human adapted pathogen that can cause a range of clinical manifestations, including scarlet fever, skin infections, rheumatic fever, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis and bloodstream infections. Recent studies have identified S. pyogenes as responsible of series of scarlet fever infections outbreaks along with the surge of invasive infections. Genomic studies have suggested that new virulence variants disrupt both innate and adaptive immune host responses, making S. pyogenes strains more transmissible and virulent over time, with impact on the first line of antibiotic treatment. Here, we report for the first time an ancient S. pyogenes infection in a pre-Columbian mummified individual from the anthropological collection of the National Museum of Archaeology - MUNARQ in La Paz, Bolivia using metagenomic de-novo assembly. By reconstructing the complete genome sequence, we were able to assign the ancient genome to its closest modern infective strains. Using a diverse set of comparative analyses, virulence factors, antibiotic resistance genes as well as prophage content, we can place our S. pyogenes strain in a broader context to understand the evolution of this pathogen, particularly in the pre-Columbian Americas. Further metagenomic screening of published datasets, will provide additional information of the occurrence and spread of S. pyogenes in different hosts and geographic regions.