PMID: 19019828

Authors:

Jung S, Dingley AJ, Augustin R, Anton-Erxleben F, Stanisak M, Gelhaus C, Gutsmann T, Hammer MU, Podschun R, Bonvin AM, Leippe M, Bosch TC, Grotzinger J

Title:

Hydramacin-1, structure and antibacterial activity of a protein from the basal metazoan Hydra.

Journal:

J Biol Chem. 2009 Jan 16;284(3):1896-905. Epub 2008 Nov 19.

Abstract:

Hydramacin-1 is a novel antimicrobial protein recently discovered during investigations of the epithelial defense of the ancient metazoan Hydra. The amino acid sequence of hydramacin-1 shows no sequence homology to any known antimicrobial proteins. Determination of the solution structure revealed that hydramacin-1 possesses a disulfide bridge-stabilized alphabeta motif. This motif is the common scaffold of the knottin protein fold. The structurally closest relatives are the scorpion oxin-like superfamily. Within this superfamily hydramacin-1 establishes a new family of proteins that all share antimicrobial activity. Hydramacin-1 is potently active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria including multi-resistant human pathogenic strains. It leads to aggregation of bacteria as an initial step of its bactericidal mechanism. Aggregated cells are connected via electron-dense contacts and adopt a thorn apple-like morphology. Analysis of the hydramacin-1 structure revealed an unusual distribution of amino acid side chains on the surface. A belt of positively charged residues is sandwiched by two hydrophobic areas. Based on this characteristic surface feature and on biophysical analysis of protein-membrane interactions, we propose a model that describes the aggregation effect exhibited by hydramacin-1.