Isolation and biochemical characterization of a novel leguminous defense peptide with antifungal and antiproliferative potency

Leguminous plants have formed a popular subject of research owing to the abundance of proteins and peptides with important biological activities that they produce. The antifungal proteins and peptides have been purified from a number of leguminous species. However, research continues to discover novel antifungal plant-produced peptides and proteins are being needed, specially those novel ones with both antifungal activity and other significant bioactivities. The objective of this study was to isolate a novel peptide from Phaseolus limensis. A 6.8 kDa peptide designated Limyin, with both antifungal and antiproliferative activity, was isolated from the large lima bean (P. limensis) legumes. The isolation procedure consisted of extraction, precipitation, affinity chromatography on Affi-gel blue gel, ion chromatography on SP-Toyopearl, and gel filtration on Superdex 75. Its N-terminal sequence was determined to be KTCENLATYYRGPCF, showing high homology to defensin and defensin precursors from plants. It potently suppressed mycelial growth in Alternaria alternata, Fusarium solani, and Botrytis cinerea. Its antifungal activity was stable up to 80A degrees C. It showed antiproliferative activity towards tumor cells including human liver hepatoma cells Bel-7402 and neuroblastoma cells SHSY5Y. However, it had no effect on bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella. The present findings make a significant addition of the research on leguminous plants.