Screening, Expression, Purification and Functional Characterization of Novel Antimicrobial Peptide Genes from Hermetia illucens (L.)

PLoS One. 2017 Jan 5;12(1):e0169582. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0169582. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides from a wide spectrum of insects possess potent microbicidal properties against microbial-related diseases. In this study, seven new gene fragments of three types of antimicrobial peptides were obtained from Hermetia illucens (L), and were named cecropinZ1, sarcotoxin1, sarcotoxin (2a), sarcotoxin (2b), sarcotoxin3, stomoxynZH1, and stomoxynZH1(a). Among these genes, a 189-basepair gene (stomoxynZH1) was cloned into the pET32a expression vector and expressed in the Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with thioredoxin. Results show that Trx-stomoxynZH1 exhibits diverse inhibitory activity on various pathogens, including Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli, fungus Rhizoctonia solani Khün (rice)-10, and fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary-14. The minimum inhibitory concentration of Trx-stomoxynZH1 is higher against Gram-positive bacteria than against Gram-negative bacteria but similar between the fungal strains. These results indicate that H. illucens (L.) could provide a rich source for the discovery of novel antimicrobial peptides. Importantly, stomoxynZH1 displays a potential benefit in controlling antibiotic-resistant pathogens.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Infective Agents / metabolism
  • Anti-Infective Agents / pharmacology*
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Diptera / chemistry
  • Gram-Negative Bacteria / drug effects
  • Gram-Positive Bacteria / drug effects
  • Insect Proteins / genetics
  • Insect Proteins / metabolism
  • Insect Proteins / pharmacology*
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests
  • Plasmids

Substances

  • Anti-Infective Agents
  • DNA, Complementary
  • Insect Proteins

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest, China (201303094) and Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province, China (2010CBB02002).