Cammue B P, De Bolle M F, Schoofs H M, Terras F R, Thevissen K, Osborn R W, Rees S B, Broekaert W F
F. A. Janssens Laboratory of Genetics, Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.
Ciba Found Symp. 1994;186:91-101; discussion 101-6. doi: 10.1002/9780470514658.ch6.
On the basis of an extensive screening of seeds from various plant species, we have isolated and characterized several different antimicrobial peptides. They were all typified by having a broad antifungal activity spectrum, a relatively low molecular weight (3-14 kDa), a high cysteine content and a high isoelectric point (pI > 10). With respect to their amino acid sequence, these peptides can be classified into six structural classes. Synergistic enhancement (up to 73-fold) of antimicrobial activity was demonstrated in some combinations of peptides belonging to different classes. cDNA clones corresponding to different antifungal peptides were isolated and used to transform tobacco plants. Extracts of these transgenic plants showed higher (up to 16-fold) antifungal activity than untransformed control plants. Such antimicrobial peptides may find applications in molecular breeding of plants with increased disease resistance.
基于对多种植物种子的广泛筛选，我们分离并鉴定了几种不同的抗菌肽。它们的共同特点是具有广泛的抗真菌活性谱、相对较低的分子量（3 - 14 kDa）、高半胱氨酸含量和高的等电点（pI > 10）。就其氨基酸序列而言，这些肽可分为六个结构类别。在属于不同类别的肽的某些组合中，抗菌活性表现出协同增强（高达73倍）。分离出了与不同抗真菌肽对应的cDNA克隆，并用于转化烟草植株。这些转基因植物的提取物显示出比未转化的对照植物更高（高达16倍）的抗真菌活性。这类抗菌肽可能在抗病性增强的植物分子育种中找到应用。
