title: In Vitro Antibacterial Activity of Cysteine Protease Inhibitor from Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa).
abstract: The need for replacing traditional pesticides with alternative agents for the management of agricultural pathogens is rising worldwide. In this study, a cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI), 11 kDa in size, was purified from green kiwifruit to homogeneity. We examined the growth inhibition of three plant pathogenic Gram-negative bacterial strains by kiwi CPI and attempted to elucidate the potential mechanism of the growth inhibition. CPI influenced the growth of phytopathogenic bacteria Agrobacterium tumefaciens (76.2 % growth inhibition using 15 μM CPI), Burkholderia cepacia (75.6 % growth inhibition) and, to a lesser extent, Erwinia carotovora (44.4 % growth inhibition) by inhibiting proteinases that are excreted by these bacteria. Identification and characterization of natural plant defense molecules is the first step toward creation of improved methods for pest control based on naturally occurring molecules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Popovic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Chemistry, Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Uros
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Andjelkovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Milica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grozdanovic
authors.affiliation: Institute of Virology, Vaccines and Sera Torlak, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Aleksic
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gavrovic-Jankulovic
keywords: Antibacterial; Cysteine protease inhibitor; Kiwifruit cystatin; Phytocystatin; Plant natural resistance