Rana zhenhaiensis, a species of brown frog, is widely distributed in central and south China. In the present study, a total of 14 cDNA sequences encoding eight novel antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) were cloned from the synthesized cDNAs of R. zhenhaiensis skin. The eight novel AMPs belong to four families: brevinin-1 (four peptides), brevinin-2 (one peptide), ranatuerin-2 (one peptide) and chensinin-1 (two peptides), five AMPs from the four families (brevinin-1ZHa, brevinin-1ZHb, brevinin-2ZHa, ranatuerin-2ZHa and chensinin-1ZHa) were chemically synthesized, their antimicrobial and hemolytic activities were examined. The results indicated that the five AMPs possess different antimicrobial and hemolytic activities. Of these, brevinin-2ZHa exhibited the strongest and most broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experiment was carried out to investigate the potential antimicrobial mechanism of chensinin-1ZHa. The result indicated that chensinin-1ZHa may exert its function through disruption of the bacterial membrane.
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1 September 2012
Molecular Cloning and Functional Characterization of Novel Antimicrobial Peptides from the Skin of Brown Frog, Rana zhenhaiensis
Baohua Xu,
Helong Che,
Lumei Kang,
Shuangyan Zheng,
Songniu Mu,
Fusheng Wan
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Zoological Science
Vol. 29 • No. 9
September 2012
Vol. 29 • No. 9
September 2012
amphibian
antimicrobial activity
antimicrobial peptides (AMPs)
brown frog
hemolytic activity
Rana zhenhaiensis
scanning electron microscopy (SEM)