title: Solution structure of drosomycin, the first inducible antifungal protein from insects.
abstract: Drosomycin is the first antifungal protein characterized recently among the broad family of inducible peptides and proteins produced by insects to respond to bacterial or septic injuries. It is a small protein of 44 amino acid residues extracted from Drosophila melanogaster that exhibits a potent activity against filamentous fungi. Its three-dimensional structure in aqueous solution was determined using 1H 2D NMR. This structure, involving an alpha-helix and a twisted three-stranded beta-sheet, is stabilized by three disulfide bridges. The corresponding Cysteine Stabilized alpha beta (CS alpha beta) motif, which was found in other defense proteins such as the antibacterial insect defensin A, short- and long-chain scorpion toxins, as well as in plant thionins and potent antifungal plant defensins, appears as remarkably persistent along evolution.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (UPR 4301 CNRS), Orléans, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Landon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sodano
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hetru
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ptak
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D023082:Defensins; D004220:Disulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000737:chemistry*; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D017385:Sequence Homology; D012996:Solutions
chemical_list: D000935:Antifungal Agents; D023082:Defensins; D004220:Disulfides; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D012996:Solutions; C058181:insect defensin A; C091227:DRS protein, Drosophila; D003545:Cysteine