title: A novel class of antimicrobial peptides from the scorpion Heterometrus spinifer.
abstract: The venom peptides from the scorpion Heterometrus spinifer have been poorly characterized so far. Here, we identified a novel class of antimicrobial peptides from the venom gland of H. spinifer, which were referred to as HsAp, HsAp2, HsAp3 and HsAp4, respectively. Each of the four peptides consists of 29 amino acid residues, and is cationic and weakly amphipathic. They display no significant homology to any other known peptides, and thus represent a new family of venom peptides from scorpions. Antimicrobial assay showed that HsAp is able to inhibit the growth of both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria with the MIC values of 11.8-51.2 μM. HsAp is also able to inhibit the growth of the tested fungus. Genomic analysis indicated that the genes of all the four peptides are intronless. Our studies expand the families of antimicrobial peptides from scorpions.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, Wuhan 430074, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Xian-Chun
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Xuesong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Shifen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jianping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019295:Computational Biology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012604:Scorpion Venoms / Q000737:chemistry; D012605:Scorpions / Q000737:chemistry*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D012604:Scorpion Venoms