The aims of this study were to produce a new antimicrobial peptide, bovine lactoferricin- lactoferrampin (LFC-LFA) in Photorhabdus luminescens (P. luminescens). cipA and cipB genes which encode crystalline inclusion proteins in a P. luminescens strain were deleted by using recombineering technology. The mutant of P. luminescens which defined as P. luminescens TZR001 was used as protein expression host. Bovine lactoferricin (LFC) and lactoferrampin (LFA) are two active fragments and are located in the N1-domain of bovine lactoferrin. Synthetic LFC-LFA gene containing LFC and LFA was fused with cipB gene and cloned into arabinose inducible expression vector to form the expression plasmid pBAD-cipB-LFC-LFA. After transforming the expression plasmid into host bacterial strain P. luminescens TZR001, cipB-LFC-LFA fusion protein was expressed when induced by L-arabinose and the amount of which reached to about 20％ of the total bacterial protein. Experiments in vitro showed that LFC-LFA released from cipB had an antimicrobial activity.
Z.R.Tang Y.M.Zhang Z.H.Sun S.A.Francis Jun Fu M.M.Geng Y.L.Yin
Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute ofSubtropical Agriculture, Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute ofSubtropical Agriculture, BioInnovation Zentrum, Technical University of Dresden, Am Tatzberg 47, 01307,Dresden, Germany Correspondence: Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, P.O.Box