Meeting Abstract
Bioprospecting for antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) has attracted more attention in recent years due to the growing threat of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). The marine environment offers a wealth of untapped potential in the form of novel therapeutic chemical compounds. Scleractinian, or stony, corals are an order of marine organisms whose lineage may date back to the early Paleozoic Era. Lophelia pertusa, a member of the order Scleractinia, is a framework-builder for deep-sea coral reefs. This species is currently garnering growing interest due to its global abundance and ability to create highly biodiverse ecosystems. To isolate AMPs, samples of L. pertusa were crushed using liquid nitrogen. A protease inhibitor in 10 mM Tris-Cl buffer was added to create a homogenate. AMPs were then harvested from the coral homogenate using functionalized MA6A HA hydrogel microparticle beads that had an anionic charge. These particles attracted, filtered, and isolate small cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) from the coral homogenate. CAMPs were subsequently eluted, purified, and concentrated to allow for de novo sequencing using an Orbitrap Elite mass spectrometer equipped with electron transfer dissociation. Over 1000 peptides were isolated from these purified samples. PEAKS software was used to analyze the peptides and determine the probability of antimicrobial activity. Once available, the new draft genome of L. pertusa will be used in PEAKS to confirm, complete, and correct the de novo CAMP sequences as well as determine their origin. Putative novel CAMPs harvested from L. pertusa can then be synthesized, which could lead to trials that test their effectiveness against known ARB.
