Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of an anti-lipopolysaccharide factor from the crucifix crab, Charybdis feriatus

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides are small cationic, gene-encoded, amphipathic, host defense peptides with a ubiquitous distribution in all living kingdoms. They are ,10 kDa in size, with 15–100 amino acids having a net positive charge of +2 to +9. Anti-lipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) is a cationic antimicrobial peptide which constitutes one of the key effector molecules in the innate immune system of crustaceans, and is capable of binding and neutralizing lipopoly-saccharides. In the present study, an ALF homolog (Charybdis feriatus [Cf]-ALF1)-encoding cDNA sequence from the hemocytes of the crucifix crab, C. feriatus, was cloned, identified, and characterized. The deduced peptide of Cf-ALF1 encoded for a 123 amino acid peptide with a 97 residue mature peptide (11.16 kDa) that had a net charge of +10. Two conserved cysteine residues and a putative lipopolysaccharide binding domain were observed in the Cf-ALF1 mature peptide. BLAST analysis of Cf-ALF1 nucleotides showed a 99% similarity to Scylla serrata. The spatial structure of Cf-ALF1 was composed of three α-helices packed against a four-strand β-sheet. Two of these helices were linked by a disulfide bond to form an amphipathic loop similar to the structure of anti-lipopolysaccharide factor isoform 3 from Penaeus monodon (ALF-Pm3). All these features suggest that Cf-ALF1 could play a significant role in the innate immune defense mechanism of C. feriatus.