title: Identification of candidate antimicrobial peptides derived from abalone hemocyanin.
abstract: Hemocyanins present in invertebrate hemolymph are multifunctional proteins, responsible for oxygen transport and contributing to innate immunity through phenoloxidase-like activity. In arthropods, hemocyanin has been identified as a source of broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides during infection. Conversely, no hemocyanin-derived antimicrobial peptides have been reported for molluscs. The present study describes a putative antimicrobial region, termed haliotisin, located within the linking sequence between the α-helical domain and β-sheet domain of abalone (Haliotis tuberculata) hemocyanin functional unit E. A series of synthetic peptides based on overlapping fragments of the haliotisin region were tested for their bactericidal potential. Incubating Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in the presence of certain haliotisin peptides, notably peptides 3-4-5 (DTFDYKKFGYRYDSLELEGRSISRIDELIQQRQEKDRTFAGFLLKGFGTSAS) led to reductions in microbial growth. Furthermore, transmission electron micrographs of haliotisin-treated bacteria revealed damages to the microbial cell wall. Data discussed here provides the first evidence to suggest that molluscan hemocyanin may act as a source of anti-infective peptides.
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhuang
authors.affiliation: Biological and Environmental Sciences, School of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland FK9 4LA, United Kingdom. Electronic address: c.j.coates@stir.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Coates
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China; University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China.
authors.forename: Hongtao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 15 Datun Road, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: wuzujian@126.com.
authors.forename: Zujian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Fujian Provincial key Laboratory of Plant Virology, Institute of Plant Virology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China; Key Laboratory of Biopesticide and Chemical Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350002, China. Electronic address: fjxlh@126.com.
authors.forename: Lianhui
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000378:metabolism*; D006433:Hemocyanins / Q000378:metabolism*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016973:Pectobacterium carotovorum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000494:pharmacology; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D010455:Peptides; D006433:Hemocyanins
keywords: Antimicrobial peptide; Haliotisin; Hemocyanin; In silico; Innate immunity; Mollusc