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Cloning and expression of gallerimycin, an antifungal peptide expressed in immune response of greater wax moth larvae, Galleria mellonella
Author(s) -
Schuhmann Berit,
Seitz Volkhard,
Vilcinskas Andreas,
Podsiadlowski Lars
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
archives of insect biochemistry and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.576
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1520-6327
pISSN - 0739-4462
DOI - 10.1002/arch.10091
Subject(s) - galleria mellonella , biology , cecropin , defensin , antimicrobial peptides , metarhizium anisopliae , complementary dna , microbiology and biotechnology , peptide , innate immune system , immune system , biochemistry , gene , botany , immunology , virulence , larva
A novel defensin‐like peptide was identified in the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella . It was discovered in a haemocyte cDNA bank enriched with transcripts upregulated after immune challenge via subtractive hybridisation and suppressive PCR. The deduced amino acid sequence of the defensin‐like peptide exhibits similarities to the antifungal peptides drosomycin from Drosophila melanogaster and heliomicin from Heliothis virescens . Therefore, it has been termed gallerimycin. Upregulation of gallerimycin after stimulation of the immune system by LPS‐injection was demonstrated by quantitative real‐time PCR. A full‐size cDNA was cloned and overexpressed in Escherichia coli Origami cells in order to obtain a functional peptide with disulfide bridges. The recombinant peptide was active against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae , but not against yeast, gram‐negative and gram‐positive bacteria. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 53:125–133, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.