Biochemistry

Antimicrobial peptides represent new hope in the fight against resistant pathogenic bacteria. Several novel peptides possessing potent antimicrobial activities were recently discovered in our laboratory. The peptide which we identified in the immune system of the larvae of blowfly Lucilia sericata, named lucifensin, belong to the group of insect defensins. These are peptides of 35-40 amino acid residues and three intramolecular disulfide bridges. Lucifensin shows high antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria. The study will comprise the synthesis of lucifensin and some human defensins by combining the method of solid phase peptide synthesis and “native chemical ligation”, which is based on the presence of cysteine residues in peptide sequence. The study will also involve biophysical methods for structural studies and biological assays.