Antimicrobial Peptides from Rat-Tailed Maggots of the Drone Fly Show Potent Activity against Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria.
Rolf Hirsch, Jochen Wiesner, Armin Bauer, Alexander Marker, Heiko Vogel, Peter Eugen Hammann, Andreas Vilcinskas
Author Information
Rolf Hirsch: Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Ohlebergsweg 12, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Jochen Wiesner: Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Ohlebergsweg 12, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
Armin Bauer: Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Industriepark Höchst, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany.
Alexander Marker: Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, Industriepark Höchst, 65926 Frankfurt, Germany.
Heiko Vogel: Max-Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Entomology, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 8, 07745 Jena, Germany.
Peter Eugen Hammann: Evotec International GmbH, Marie-Curie-Str. 7, 37079 Göttingen, Germany.
Andreas Vilcinskas: Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology, Department of Bioresources, Ohlebergsweg 12, 35392 Giessen, Germany.
The spread of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria is an increasing threat to human health, because novel compound classes for the development of antibiotics have not been discovered for decades. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may provide a much-needed breakthrough because these immunity-related defense molecules protect many eukaryotes against Gram-negative pathogens. Recent concepts in evolutionary immunology predict the presence of potent AMPs in insects that have adapted to survive in habitats with extreme microbial contamination. For example, the saprophagous and coprophagous maggots of the drone fly (Diptera) can flourish in polluted aquatic habitats, such as sewage tanks and farmyard liquid manure storage pits. We used next-generation sequencing to screen the immunity-related transcriptome for AMPs that are synthesized in response to the injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide. We identified 22 AMPs and selected nine for larger-scale synthesis to test their activity against a broad spectrum of pathogens, including multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Two cecropin-like peptides (EtCec1-a and EtCec2-a) and a diptericin-like peptide (EtDip) displayed strong activity against the pathogens, even under simulated physiological conditions, and also achieved a good therapeutic window. Therefore, these AMPs could be used as leads for the development of novel antibiotics.
