Abstract：
The venoms of ants (Formicidae) are a promising source of novel bioactive molecules with potential for clinical and agricultural applications. However, despite the rich diversity of ant species, only a fraction of this vast resource has been thoroughly examined in bioprospecting programs. Previous studies focusing on the venom of Central European ants (subfamily Myrmicinae) identified a number of short linear decapeptides and nonapeptides resembling antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Here, we describe the in silico approach and bioactivity profiling of 10 novel AMP-like peptides from the fellow Central European myrmicine ants Myrmica rubra and Myrmica ruginodis. Using the sequences of known ant venom peptides as queries, we screened the venom gland transcriptomes of both species. We found transcripts of nine novel decapeptides and one novel nonapeptide. The corresponding peptides were synthesized for bioactivity profiling in a broad panel of assays consisting of tests for cytotoxicity as well as antiviral, insecticidal, and antimicrobial activity. U-MYRTX-Mrug5a showed moderately potent antimicrobial effects against several bacteria, including clinically relevant pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus epidermidis, but high concentrations showed negligible cytotoxicity. U-MYRTX-Mrug5a is, therefore, a probable lead for the development of novel peptide-based antibiotics.
摘要：
蚂蚁（Formicidae）的毒液是新型生物活性分子的有希望的来源，具有临床和农业应用的潜力。然而,尽管蚂蚁种类丰富多样,在生物勘探计划中，只有一小部分资源经过了彻底的检查。先前针对中欧蚂蚁（Myrmicinae亚科）毒液的研究发现了许多类似抗菌肽（AMPs）的短线性十肽和九肽。这里,我们描述了来自中欧Myrmicine蚂蚁Myrmicarubra和Myrmicaruginodis的10种新型AMP样肽的计算机模拟方法和生物活性分析。使用已知的蚁毒肽序列作为查询，我们筛选了两个物种的毒腺转录组。我们发现了9种新颖的十肽和一种新颖的非肽的转录本。在由细胞毒性和抗病毒测试组成的广泛的分析中合成相应的肽用于生物活性分析。杀虫,和抗菌活性。U-MYRTX-Mrug5a对几种细菌显示出中等有效的抗菌作用，包括临床相关病原体，如单核细胞增生李斯特菌和表皮葡萄球菌，但是高浓度的细胞毒性可以忽略不计.U-MYRTX-Mrug5a是，因此,可能是开发新的基于肽的抗生素的线索。
