Deadly weapon: frog peptide
An unassuming Australian amphibian may inspire novel synthetic drugs to combat bacterial infections, according to European researchers.
In a paper published in the journal
PNAS, the team – led by the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) – discovered intriguing molecular properties of an antimicrobial peptide that is secreted on the skin of Mjoberg’s toadlet (
Uperoleia mjobergi).
This tiny critter, the size of a dollar coin, is native to the Kimberley region in WA. It received its cute moniker because it looks “toad-like”, despite having no relation to true toads – it’s actually a frog.
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Toadlet peptide transforms into a deadly weapon against bacteria
Researchers at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and EMBL Hamburg have discovered remarkable molecular properties of an antimicrobial peptide from the skin of the Australian toadlet. The discovery could inspire the development of novel synthetic drugs to combat bacterial infections The peptide uperin 3.5 is secreted by the Australian toadlet’s skin. When exposed to bacterial membranes, it rapidly changes its structure and transforms into a deadly antimicrobial weapon. The pictures were taken using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) in the Electron Microscopy Centers in the Technion Department of Materials Science and Engineering and in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The cross-α atomic structure was determined by data collected at the ESRF synchrotron. Credit: Nir Salinas/Technion