Antimicrobial Activities of Different Fractions from Mucus of the Garden Snail <i>Cornu aspersum</i>
Aleksandar Dolashki,
Lyudmila Velkova,
Elmira Daskalova,
N. Zheleva,
Yana Topalova,
Ventseslav Atanasov,
Wolfgang Voelter,
Pavlina Dolashka
Affiliations
Aleksandar Dolashki
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl.9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Lyudmila Velkova
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl.9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Elmira Daskalova
Sofia University, St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Biology, Department of General and Applied Hydrobiology, 8 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
N. Zheleva
Sofia University, St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Biology, Department of General and Applied Hydrobiology, 8 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Yana Topalova
Sofia University, St. Kliment Ohridski, Faculty of Biology, Department of General and Applied Hydrobiology, 8 Dragan Tzankov Blvd., 1164 Sofia, Bulgaria
Ventseslav Atanasov
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl.9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Wolfgang Voelter
Interfacultary Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Straße 4, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany
Pavlina Dolashka
Institute of Organic Chemistry with Centre of Phytochemistry, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Acad. G. Bonchev str., bl.9, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
Natural products have long played a major role in medicine and science. The garden snail Cornu aspersum is a rich source of biologically active natural substances that might be an important source for new drugs to treat human disease. Based on our previous studies, nine fractions containing compounds with Mw 20 kDa; >30 kDa>50 kDa and between 3 and 5 kDa; 5 and 10 kDa; and 10 and 30 kDa were purified from the mucus of C. aspersum and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF). Seventeen novel peptides with potential antibacterial activity were identified by de novo MS/MS sequencing using tandem mass spectrometry. The different fractions were tested for antibacterial activity against Gram─ (Pseudomonas aureofaciens and Escherichia coli) and Gram+ (Brevibacillus laterosporus) bacterial strains as well the anaerobic bacterium Clostridium perfringens. These results revealed that the peptide fractions exhibit a predominant antibacterial activity against B. laterosporus; the fraction with Mw 10–30 kDa against E. coli; another peptide fraction P. aureofaciens; and the protein fraction >20 kDa against the bacterial strain C. perfringens. The discovery of new antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from natural sources is of great importance for public health due to the AMPs’ effective antimicrobial activities and low resistance rates.
