Abstract
In this chapter, we introduce a general protocol of antibacterial vermipeptide preparation methods from earthworms, including crude peptide preparation and purification by ultrafiltration, ion-exchange chromatography, gel-filtration, and HPLC chromatography. The antibacterial vermipeptide presented a wide antibacterial spectrum and specialty and performed antimicrobial activities not only against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria but also against cancer cells and virus.
A set of antibacterial peptide assay were used to verify the possibility of induced antibacterial peptides (IAP) for commercial peptide production. The peptide-inducing ways included biological, physical, and chemical treatments. The result showed that IAP can be induced by almost all three treatments used, but there were differences in sensitivity to various stress treatments. Finally, we review and discuss the characteristics of vermipeptides from earthworms, with special reference to a novel antibacterial vermipeptides family.
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Zhenjun, S. (2011). Antimicrobial Vermipeptides: From Methods to Characteristics. In: Karaca, A. (eds) Biology of Earthworms. Soil Biology, vol 24. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14636-7_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14636-7_1
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