Purification and characterization of alpha- and beta-benincasins, arginine/glutamate-rich peptides with translation-inhibiting activity from wax gourd seeds.
Two peptides, with a molecular mass of about 11 kDa and an N-terminal sequence abundant in arginine and glutamine residues, were isolated from wax gourd seeds. The isolation protocol included affinity chromatography on Affi-gel blue gel, ion-exchange chromatography on Mono-S and gel filtration on Superdex 75. The peptides, designated alpha- and beta-benincasins, inhibited cell-free translation in a rabbit reticulocyte lysate system with an IC(50) of 20 and 320 pM, respectively. Alpha-benincasin exhibited weak antifungal activity toward Coprinus comatus and Physalospora piricola but not toward Mycosphaerella arachidicola.
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Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong, China. biochemistry@cuhk.edu.hk
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001120:Arginine / Q000737:chemistry*; D002846:Chromatography, Affinity; D019662:Cucurbitaceae / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000196:embryology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000737:chemistry*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014176:Protein Biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D011817:Rabbits; D012639:Seeds / Q000737:chemistry*
D000935:Antifungal Agents; D010455:Peptides; D018698:Glutamic Acid; D001120:Arginine