RESUMEN
The structures of two major tyrocidines, antibiotic peptides from Bacillus aneurinolyticus, in an aqueous environment were studied using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, restrained molecular dynamics (MD), circular dichroism, and mass spectrometry. TrcA and TrcC formed ß-structures in an aqueous environment. Hydrophobic and hydrophilic residues were not totally separated into nonpolar and polar faces of the peptides, indicating that tyrocidines have low amphipathicity. In all the ß-structures, residues Trp(4)/Phe(4) and Orn(9) were on the same face. The ability of the peptides to form dimers in aqueous environment was studied by replica exchange MD simulations. Both peptides readily dimerize, and predominant complex structures were characterized through cluster analysis. The peptides formed dimers by either associating sideways or stacking on top of each other. Dimers formed through sideways association were mainly stabilized by hydrogen bonding, while the other dimers were stabilized by hydrophobic interactions. The ability of tyrocidine peptides to form different types of dimers with different orientations suggests that they can form larger aggregates, as well.
Asunto(s)
Antibacterianos/química , Bacillus/metabolismo , Tirocidina/química , Antibacterianos/metabolismo , Bacillus/química , Dimerización , Espectroscopía de Resonancia Magnética , Simulación de Dinámica Molecular , Estructura Secundaria de Proteína , Tirocidina/metabolismoRESUMEN
A group of non-ribosomally produced antimicrobial peptides, the tyrocidines from the tyrothricin complex, have potential as antimicrobial agents in both medicine and industry. Previous work by our group illustrated that the more polar tyrocidines rich in Trp residues in their structure were more active toward Gram-positive bacteria, while the more non-polar tyrocidines rich in Phe residues had greater activity toward Plasmodium falciparum, one of the major causative pathogens of malaria in humans. Our group also found that the tyrocidines have pronounced antifungal activity, dictated by the primary sequence of the tyrocidine. By simply manipulating the Phe or Trp concentration in the culture medium of the tyrothricin producer, Bacillus aneurinolyticus ATCC 10068, we were able to modulate the production of subsets of tyrocidines, thereby tailoring the tyrothricin complex to target specific pathogens. We optimized the tailored tyrothricin production using a novel, small-scale, high-throughput deep 96-well plate culturing method followed by analyses of the peptide mixtures using ultra-performance liquid chromatography linked to mass spectrometry. We were able to gradually shift the production profile of the tyrocidines and analogues, as well as the gramicidins between two extremes in terms of peptide subsets and peptide hydrophobicity. This study demonstrated that tyrothricin peptide subsets with targeted activity can be efficiently produced by simple manipulation of the aromatic amino acid profile of the culture medium.
Asunto(s)
Antiinfecciosos/metabolismo , Bacillus/metabolismo , Tirotricina/metabolismo , Antiinfecciosos/química , Antiinfecciosos/farmacología , Cromatografía Liquida , Medios de Cultivo/química , Hongos/efectos de los fármacos , Bacterias Grampositivas/efectos de los fármacos , Espectrometría de Masas , Fenilalanina/metabolismo , Plasmodium falciparum/efectos de los fármacos , Triptófano/metabolismo , Tirotricina/química , Tirotricina/farmacologíaRESUMEN
Six major tyrocidines, purified from the antibiotic tyrothricin complex produced by Bacillus aneurinolyticus, showed significant lytic and growth inhibitory activity towards the gram+ bacteria, Micrococcus luteus and Listeria monocytogenes, but not against the gram- bacterium, Escherichia coli. The isolated natural tyrocidines were in particular more active against the leucocin A (antimicrobial peptide) resistant strain, L. monocytogenes B73-MR1, than the sensitive L. monocytogenes B73 strain. Remarkably similar structure-activity trends toward the three gram+ bacteria were found between growth inhibition and different physicochemical parameters (solution amphipathicity, theoretical lipophilicity, side-chain surface area and mass-over-charge ratio).