# Discovery of a pigment produced by Streptococcus pyogenes

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2023 · $193,496

## Abstract

Discovery of a pigment produced by Streptococcus pyogenes
Abstract
This proposal seeks to advance a new observation that the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (Group
A Streptococcus, GAS) produces a pigment that has gone unreported. We hypothesize the pigment protects
GAS from host-derived and/or environmental stressors (such as reactive oxygen species) and likely enhances
its fitness and potentially augments its virulence. For 80 years, no reference in the literature exists of a pigment
being produced by this important organism, and prior to that, only two citations allude to such a factor. We
suspect this property has been overlooked because its presence only becomes apparent in the laboratory after
culturing in a chemically defined medium, grown to high cell densities, and after exposure to oxygen.
Understanding if and how the production of a pigment could boost the fitness of GAS could provide a new
target that therapeutics or vaccines could take aim upon. The objectives of this proposal are to elucidate the
composition and structure of the GAS pigment, to identify genes associated with its production and regulation,
and to characterize its ability to protect GAS from stressors and immune cell killing while exploring any
cytotoxic properties.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10680293
- **Project number:** 1R21AI172116-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL J FEDERLE
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $193,496
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-03-01 → 2025-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10680293

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10680293, Discovery of a pigment produced by Streptococcus pyogenes (1R21AI172116-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10680293. Licensed CC0.

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