Antimicrobial Properties of a Peptide Derived from the Male Fertility Factor kl2 Protein of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of innate immunity. Here, we report the antimicrobial properties of a peptide derived from the Male fertility factor kl2 (MFF-kl2) protein of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, which was identified as a functional analog of the mammalia...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Current Issues in Molecular Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/3/76 |
| Summary: | Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are important components of innate immunity. Here, we report the antimicrobial properties of a peptide derived from the Male fertility factor kl2 (MFF-kl2) protein of <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i>, which was identified as a functional analog of the mammalian antibacterial chemerin-p4 peptide. The antimicrobial activity of multifunctional chemerin is mainly associated with a domain localized in the middle of the chemerin sequence, Val66-Pro85 peptide (chemerin-p4). Using bioinformatic tools, we found homologs of the chemerin-p4 peptide in the proteome of <i>D. melanogaster</i>. One of them is MFF-p1, which is a part of the MFF kl2 protein, encoded by the gene <i>male fertility factor kl2</i> (<i>kl-2</i>) located on the long arm of the Y chromosome. The second detected peptide (Z-p1) is a part of the Zizimin protein belonging to DOCK family, which is involved in cellular signaling processes. After testing the antimicrobial properties of both peptides, we found that only MFF-p1 possesses these properties. Here, we demonstrate its antimicrobial potential both in vitro and in vivo after infecting <i>D. melanogaster</i> with bacteria. MFF-p1 strongly inhibits the viable counts of <i>E. coli</i> and <i>B. subtilis</i> after 2 h of treatment and disrupts bacterial cells. The expression of <i>kl-2</i> is regulated by exposure to bacteria and by the circadian clock. |
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| ISSN: | 1467-3037 1467-3045 |