Arasin 1, a proline-arginine-rich antimicrobial peptide isolated from the spider crab, Hyas araneus.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are considered to play an important role as host-defense molecules in both vertebrates and invertebrates. This work was undertaken to characterize AMPs from hemocyte extracts of the small spider crab, Hyas araneus. A novel proline-arginine-rich AMP of 37 amino acids was isolated and characterized. The peptide, named arasin 1, has a chimeric structure with an N-terminal domain rich in proline and arginine and a C-terminal domain containing two disulfide linkages. The peptide precursor of 64 amino acids, deduced from a cDNA library, contained a hydrophobic pre-region of 25 amino acids, directly followed by the mature peptide. C-terminally, this precursor had two additional amino acids, which seem to be cleaved off post-translationally. Synthetic arasin 1 showed antibacterial activity. A putative isoform of arasin 1, named arasin 2, was found at the genetic level, and both transcripts were shown by real-time RT-PCR to be expressed mainly in hemocytes.
Department of Marine Biotechnology, The Norwegian College of Fishery Science, University of Tromsø, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway. Klara.Stensvag@nfh.uit.no
Klara
K
Stensvåg
Tor
T
Haug
Sigmund V
SV
Sperstad
Oystein
O
Rekdal
Bård
B
Indrevoll
Olaf B
OB
Styrvold
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D003386:Brachyura / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D048230:Corynebacterium glutamicum / Q000187:drug effects; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D053526:Listonella / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020033:Protein Isoforms; C528380:arasin 1, Hyas araneus