Encrypted Antimicrobial Peptides from Plant Proteins

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 7; no. 1; pp. 13263 - 14
• Main Authors: Ramada, M H S, Brand, G D, Abrão, F Y, Oliveira, M, Filho, J L Cardozo, Galbieri, R, Gramacho, K P, Prates, M V, Bloch, Jr, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 16.10.2017; Nature Publishing Group UK
• Subjects: Antimicrobial activity; Antimicrobial agents; Antimicrobial peptides; Microbicides; Peptides; Physicochemical properties; Proteins
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13685-6

Examples of bioactive peptides derived from internal sequences of proteins are known for decades. The great majority of these findings appear to be fortuitous rather than the result of a deliberate and methodological-based enterprise. In the present work, we describe the identification and the biological activities of novel antimicrobial peptides unveiled as internal fragments of various plant proteins founded on our hypothesis-driven search strategy. All putative encrypted antimicrobial peptides were selected based upon their physicochemical properties that were iteratively selected by an in-house computer program named Kamal. The selected peptides were chemically synthesized and evaluated for their interaction with model membranes. Sixteen of these peptides showed antimicrobial activity against human and/or plant pathogens, some with a wide spectrum of activity presenting similar or superior inhibition efficacy when compared to classical antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These original and previously unforeseen molecules constitute a broader and undisputable set of evidences produced by our group that illustrate how the intragenic concept is a workable reality and should be carefully explored not only for microbicidal agents but also for many other biological functions.