Population biology of the human restricted pathogen, Streptococcus pyogenes

Streptococcus pyogenes, also referred to as β-hemolytic group A streptococci, are strictly human pathogens with a global distribution and high prevalence of infection. The organisms are characterized by high levels of genetic recombination, extensive strain diversity, and a narrow habitat. This review highlights many key features of the population genetics and molecular epidemiology of this biologically diverse bacterial species, with special emphasis on ecological subdivisions and tissue-specific infections, strain diversity and population dynamics in communities, selection pressures arising from the specific host immune response and antibiotic exposure, and within-host selection during the course of invasive disease.