ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDES — A POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT FOR TRADITIONAL ANTIBIOTICS

Structure and properties of antimicrobial peptides produced by antagonist microorganisms isolated from Siberian natural objects

Introduction. Public healthcare urgently needs new pharmaceuticals – alternative to traditional antibiotics – that pathogens develop no resistance to. Of special interest in this regard are antimicrobial, ribosomally synthesized bacterial peptides or bacteriocins. In this work, we aimed to study the structure and properties of antimicrobial peptides produced by antagonist microorganisms isolated from the natural objects of the Siberian region. Study objects and methods. The study objects were bacteria isolated from the natural sources of Kuzbass. After culturing bacteria, total protein was precipitated from the culture fluid and separated into fractions by gel permeation HPLC. Their amino acid sequences were determined by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The antibacterial (against Bacillus pumilus and Escherichia coli) and fungicidal (against Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus niger) properties of the peptides were studied by the disk diffusion method. Results and discussion. Seven peptides with different amino acid sequences were isolated from the culture fluid of bacteria, five of which had no analogues in the PepBank and Uniprot data banks. The peptide with an amino acid sequence of VMCLARKCSQGLIVKAPLM (2061.66 Da) was homologous to the cysteine membrane protein Giardia lamblia P15, and the peptide with an amino acid sequence of AVPSMKLCIQWSPVRASPCVMLGI (2587.21 Da) showed a homology with the Planctomycetes bacterium I41 peptides. We found antibacterial (against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria) and fungicidal (against Aspergillus) properties in the peptide fractions. Conclusion. Antimicrobial peptides produced by bacteria isolated from the natural objects of the Siberian region can be used to create pharmaceuticals as an alternative to traditional antibiotics to treat infectious diseases.