Stylicins, a new family of antimicrobial peptides from the Pacific blue shrimp Litopenaeus stylirostris.

The present study reports the characterization of Ls-Stylicin1, a novel antimicrobial peptide from the penaeid shrimp, Litopenaeus stylirostris. The predicted mature peptide of 82 residues is negatively charged (theoretical pI=5.0) and characterized by a proline-rich N-terminal region and a C-terminal region containing 13 cysteine residues. The recombinant Ls-Stylicin1 has been isolated in both monomeric and dimeric forms. Both display strong antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum (1.25 microM