title: Full-Length cDNA, Prokaryotic Expression, and Antimicrobial Activity of UuHb-F-I from Urechis unicinctus.
abstract: Hemoglobin, which widely exists in all vertebrates and in some invertebrates, is possibly a precursor of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). However, AMPs in the hemoglobin of invertebrates have been rarely investigated. This study is the first to report the full-length cDNA, prokaryotic expression, and antimicrobial activity of UuHb-F-I from Urechis unicinctus. The full-length cDNA sequence of UuHb-F-I was 780 bp with an open-reading frame of 429 bp encoding 142 amino acids. MALDI-TOF-MS suggested that the recombinant protein of UuHb-F-I (rUuHb-F-I) yielded a molecular weight of 15,168.01 Da, and its N-terminal amino acid sequence was MGLTGAQIDAIK. rUuHb-F-I exhibited different antimicrobial activities against microorganisms. The lowest minimum inhibitory concentration against Micrococcus luteus was 2.78-4.63 μM. Our results may help elucidate the immune defense mechanism of U. unicinctus and may provide insights into new AMPs in drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Rongli
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Engineering Research Center of Molecular Medicine, Ministry of Education, Huaqiao University, Xiamen 361021, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics*; D016982:Micrococcus luteus / Q000187:drug effects*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011077:Polychaeta / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D018076:DNA, Complementary