The Peptide Ixosin Uses an ATCUN Motif for its Oxidative Antimicrobial Activity and its Synergy with Ixosin B

Ticks transmit multiple pathogens to different hosts without compromising their health. Their ability to evade microbial infections are largely a result of their effective innate immune response including various antimicrobial peptides. Therefore, a deep understanding of how ticks (and other arthropod vectors) control microbial loads could lead to the design of broad‐spectrum antimicrobial agents. In this report we study the role of the Amino Terminal Copper‐ and Nickel‐(ATCUN) binding sequence in the peptide Ixosin, isolated from the salivary glands of the hard tick Ixodes sinensis . Our results indicate that the ATCUN motif is not essential to the potency of Ixosin, but is indispensable to its oxidative mechanism of action. Specifically, the ATCUN motif promotes dioxygen‐ and copper‐dependent lipid (per)oxidation of bacterial membranes in a temporal fashion coinciding with the onset of bacterial death. Microscopy and studies on model membranes indicate that the oxidized phospholipids are utilized as potential targets of Ixosin B (another tick salvary gland peptide) involving its delocalization to the bacterial membrane, thus resulting in a synergistic effect. Our proposed mechanism of action highlights the centrality of the ATCUN motif to ixosin's mechanism of action and demonstrate a novel way in which (tick) AMPs utilize metal ions in its activity. This study suggests that ticks employ a variety of effectors to generate an amplified immune response, possibly justifying its vector competence. Support or Funding Information University of Connecticut