In silico optimization of a guava antimicrobial peptide enables combinatorial exploration for peptide design

William F. Porto, Luz Irazazabal, Eliane S. F. Alves, Suzana M. Ribeiro, Carolina O. Matos, Állan S. Pires, Isabel C. M. Fensterseifer, Vivian J. Miranda, Evan F. Haney, Vincent Humblot, Marcelo D. T. Torres, Robert E. W. Hancock, Luciano M. Liao, Ali Ladram, Timothy K. Lu, Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez () and Octavio L. Franco ()
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William F. Porto: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília
Luz Irazazabal: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília
Eliane S. F. Alves: University of Brasília
Suzana M. Ribeiro: S-Inova Biotech, Pós-graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco
Carolina O. Matos: Universidade Federal de Goiás
Állan S. Pires: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília
Isabel C. M. Fensterseifer: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília
Vivian J. Miranda: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília
Evan F. Haney: University of British Columbia
Vincent Humblot: Laboratoire de Réactivité de Surface (LRS)
Marcelo D. T. Torres: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Robert E. W. Hancock: University of British Columbia
Luciano M. Liao: Universidade Federal de Goiás
Ali Ladram: Institut de Biologie Paris-Seine (IBPS), Biogenèse des Signaux Peptidiques (BIOSIPE)
Timothy K. Lu: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Octavio L. Franco: Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia Universidade Católica de Brasília

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Plants are extensively used in traditional medicine, and several plant antimicrobial peptides have been described as potential alternatives to conventional antibiotics. However, after more than four decades of research no plant antimicrobial peptide is currently used for treating bacterial infections, due to their length, post-translational modifications or high dose requirement for a therapeutic effect . Here we report the design of antimicrobial peptides derived from a guava glycine-rich peptide using a genetic algorithm. This approach yields guavanin peptides, arginine-rich α-helical peptides that possess an unusual hydrophobic counterpart mainly composed of tyrosine residues. Guavanin 2 is characterized as a prototype peptide in terms of structure and activity. Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis indicates that the peptide adopts an α-helical structure in hydrophobic environments. Guavanin 2 is bactericidal at low concentrations, causing membrane disruption and triggering hyperpolarization. This computational approach for the exploration of natural products could be used to design effective peptide antibiotics.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03746-3

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