Journal article
Authors list: Poppel, AK; Koch, A; Kogel, KH; Vogel, H; Kollewe, C; Wiesner, J; Vilcinskas, A
Publication year: 2014
Pages: 649-656
Journal: Biological Chemistry
Volume number: 395
Issue number: 6
ISSN: 1431-6730
DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2013-0263
Publisher: De Gruyter Brill
Abstract:
We report the identification, cloning, heterologous expression and functional characterization of a novel antifungal peptide named lucimycin from the common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata. The lucimycin cDNA was isolated from a library of genes induced during the innate immune response in L. sericata larvae, which are used as therapeutic maggots. The peptide comprises 77 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 8.2 kDa and a pI of 6.6. It is predicted to contain a zinc-binding motif and to form a random coil, lacking beta-sheets or other secondary structures. Lucimycin was active against fungi from the phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Zygomycota, in addition to the oomycete Phytophtora parasitica, but it was inactive against bacteria. A mutant version of lucimycin, lacking the four C-terminal amino acid residues, displayed 40-fold lower activity. The activity of lucimycin against a number of highly-destructive plant pathogens could be exploited to produce transgenic crops that are resistant against fungal diseases.
Citation Styles
Harvard Citation style: Poppel, A., Koch, A., Kogel, K., Vogel, H., Kollewe, C., Wiesner, J., et al. (2014) Lucimycin, an antifungal peptide from the therapeutic maggot of the common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata, Biological Chemistry, 395(6), pp. 649-656. https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2013-0263
APA Citation style: Poppel, A., Koch, A., Kogel, K., Vogel, H., Kollewe, C., Wiesner, J., & Vilcinskas, A. (2014). Lucimycin, an antifungal peptide from the therapeutic maggot of the common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata. Biological Chemistry. 395(6), 649-656. https://doi.org/10.1515/hsz-2013-0263