title: A novel cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide from the mucus of the snail of Achatina fulica.
abstract: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of the innate immunity. Many antimicrobial peptides have been found from marine mollusks. Little information about AMPs of mollusks living on land is available. A novel cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide (mytimacin-AF) belonging to the peptide family of mytimacins was purified and characterized from the mucus of the snail of Achatina fulica. Its cDNA was also cloned from the cDNA library. Mytimacin-AF is composed of 80 amino acid residues including 10 cysteines. Mytimacin-AF showed potent antimicrobial activity against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria and the fungus Candida albicans. Among tested microorganisms, it exerted strongest antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus with a minimal peptide concentration (MIC) of 1.9 μg/ml. Mytimacin-AF had little hemolytic activity against human blood red cells. The current work confirmed the presence of mytimacin-like antimicrobial peptide in land-living mollusks.
authors.affiliation: Life Sciences College of Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Wenhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Xiaomei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiuwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000187:drug effects; D003545:Cysteine / Q000737:chemistry; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009093:Mucus / Q000737:chemistry*; D012908:Snails / Q000737:chemistry*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D003545:Cysteine