Identification of a histone derived, putative antimicrobial peptide Himanturin from round whip ray Himantura pastinacoides and its phylogenetic significance

Publication date: 2012 Source:Results in Immunology, Volume 2 Author(s): Naveen Sathyan , Rosamma Philip , E.R. Chaithanya , P.R. Anil Kumar , Swapna P. Antony Histone H2A participates in host defense responses by producing antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The present study deals with identification of a putative antimicrobial sequence, Himanturin from the histone H2A of Round Whip Ray, Himantura pastinacoides. A 204bp fragment encoding 68 amino acid residues was amplified from cDNA of Round Whip Ray, H. pastinacoides. Himanturin exhibited high similarity to previously reported histone H2A derived AMPs indicating the presence of an antimicrobial sequence motif. Physicochemical properties of Himanturin suggest it to be a potential antimicrobial candidate.
Source: Results in Immunology - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research