Molecular characterization of a defensin gene from a hard tick, Dermacentor silvarum

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Jianfeng Dai¹  Tingting Feng¹  Wen Pan²  Gang Bian²  Juanjuan Wang² 

[1] Soochow University, Building 703, 199 Ren-ai Road, Suzhou 215123, P.R. China;Institute of Biology and Medical Sciences, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Infection and Immunity, Soochow University, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China

关键词: Dermacentor silvarum;    Tick;    Antimicrobial peptide (AMP);    Defensin;   

Others  :  1147899
DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-014-0625-0

 received in 2014-06-18, accepted in 2014-11-21,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

Ticks are distributed worldwide and considered as vectors of many human diseases. Tick defensins, a family of antimicrobial peptides, form the first line of defense against pathogens.

Findings

A defensin-like gene, named Ds-defensin, was identified from a cDNA library of the hard tick Dermacentor silvarum collected from northeast China. The full-length cDNA of Ds-defensin was 225 bp, encoding a 74 amino acid peptide. The nucleotide sequence of Ds-defensin shared 98.2% similarity to putative defensin from Dermacentor marginatus. RT-PCR results suggested that Ds-defensin was extensively expressed in tick salivary gland and midgut, with a higher expression level in midgut. Ds-defensin showed broad antimicrobial activity against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, as well as the fungus Candida albicans.

Conclusions

We characterized a functional defensin from D. silvarum of China. Ds-defensin showed bactericidal activity against various Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Ds-defensin can be expected to be introduced to the medical field as a new molecule with antibacterial activity.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Wang et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

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