Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology and Plant Pathology, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
USDA-ARS, Corn Host Plant Resistance Research Unit, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Sep 15;18(9):1938. doi: 10.3390/ijms18091938.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are small defense proteins present in various organisms. Major groups of AMPs include beta-barrelin, hevein, knottin, lipid transfer protein (LTP), thionin, defensin, snakin, and cyclotide. Most plant AMPs involve host plant resistance to pathogens such as fungi, viruses, and bacteria, whereas a few plant AMPs from the cyclotide family carry insecticidal functions. In this research, a genome-wide investigation on antimicrobial peptide genes in maize genome was conducted. AMPs previously identified from various plant species were used as query sequences for maize genome data mining. Thirty-nine new maize AMPs were identified in addition to seven known maize AMPs. Protein sequence analysis revealed 10 distinguishable maize AMP groups. Analysis of mRNA expression of maize AMP genes by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) revealed different expression patterns in a panel of 10 maize inbred lines. Five maize AMP genes were found significantly associated with insect or fungus resistance. Identification of maize antimicrobial peptide genes will facilitate the breeding of host plant resistance and improve maize production.
抗菌肽 (AMPs) 是存在于各种生物体中的小防御蛋白。AMP 的主要类型包括β-桶状蛋白、海啡肽、knottin、脂转移蛋白 (LTP)、硫素、防御素、snakin 和环肽。大多数植物 AMP 涉及宿主植物对真菌、病毒和细菌等病原体的抗性，而来自环肽家族的少数植物 AMP 具有杀虫功能。在这项研究中，对玉米基因组中的抗菌肽基因进行了全基因组研究。以前从各种植物物种中鉴定出的 AMP 被用作玉米基因组数据挖掘的查询序列。除了 7 种已知的玉米 AMP 外，还鉴定出了 39 种新的玉米 AMP。蛋白质序列分析揭示了 10 种可区分的玉米 AMP 组。通过定量实时聚合酶链反应 (qRT-PCR) 对玉米 AMP 基因的 mRNA 表达进行分析，发现 10 个玉米自交系中的表达模式不同。发现 5 个玉米 AMP 基因与昆虫或真菌抗性显著相关。鉴定玉米抗菌肽基因将有助于培育宿主植物抗性并提高玉米产量。
