Insect venom peptides as potent inhibitors of Escherichia coli ATP synthase

Abstract

Insect venom peptides (IVPs) eumenitin, lasiocepsin, lycosin1, mastoparanB, panurgine1, and protonectin possess antibacterial properties, and the ubiquitous enzyme ATP synthase has a peptide-binding site. In the present study, we studied the effect of IVPs on binding and inhibition of three Escherichia coli strains (wild type, mutant, and null) and isolated E. coli ATP synthase. IVPs and their C-terminal amide (–NH2) analogs caused variable inhibition of membrane-bound F1Fo ATP synthase. While wild type E. coli growth was substantially hampered, null E. coli growth was near normal in the presence of IVPs and their C-terminal–NH2 analogs. The presence of C-terminal–NH2 groups on IVPs resulted in increased inhibition of ATP synthase and reduced growth of E. coli strains. Insignificant inhibition of the βDELSEED-motif mutant enzyme with the βAAAAAAA-motif confirmed that IVPs interact with the βDELSEED-motif, also known as the peptide-binding site. The higher level of growth loss in E. coli strains by eumenitin, lasiocepsin, lycosin1, mastoparanB, panurgine1, and protonectin and their C-terminal–NH2 analogs suggested the likelihood of additional cellular or molecular targets. IVPs caused inhibition of E. coli strains, which demonstrates an association between antimicrobial traits of IVPs and bacterial ATP synthase.