Hainanenins: a novel family of antimicrobial peptides with strong activity from Hainan cascade-frog, Amolops hainanensis

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) secreted by amphibian skin represent an important innate immune defense strategy. There are more than 340 species in the family of Ranidae worldwidely, and from which nearly 100 families of AMPs comprising between 8 and 48 amino acid (aa) residues have been characterized. In current work, two novel AMPs were purified from the skin secretion of Hainan cascade-frog, Amolops hainanensis, and 31 cDNA sequences encoding 10 novel AMPs belonging to 4 families were cloned from the constructed skin cDNA library of A. hainanensis. Among these 10 AMPs, 5 peptides represent the prototypes of a novel amphibian AMP family. According to the generic name of the species of origin, they were designated as hainanenin-1-5. Each of them consists of 21 aa residues with a C-terminal disulphide loop of 7 residues between Cys(15) and Cys(21). Two of them (hainanenin-1 and 5) were then synthesized and their in vitro activities were screened, including antimicrobial, hemolytic and antioxidant activities. The results showed that hainanenin-1 and 5 possessed strong and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities against Gram-positive, Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, including a large number of clinically isolated drug-resistant pathogenic microorganisms, and slight antioxidant activity. Undesirably, hainanenin-1 and 5 exhibited strong hemolytic activity on human erythrocytes. The discovery of hainanenins and their great antimicrobial potency provides new templates for anti-infective agent design.     

Characterization of diverse antimicrobial peptides in skin secretions of Chungan torrent frog Amolops chunganensis

We have cloned, synthesized, and characterized 11 novel antimicrobial peptides from a skin derived cDNA library of the Chungan torrent frog, Amolops chunganensis. Seven of the 11 antimicrobial peptides were present in authentic A. chunganensis skin secretions. Sequence analysis indicated that the 11 peptides belonged to the temporin, esculentin-2, palustrin-2, brevinin-1, and brevinin-2 families. The peptides displayed potent antimicrobial activities against several strains of microorganisms. One peptide, brevinin-1CG5, demonstrated antimicrobial activity against all tested Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and fungi, and showed high antimicrobial potency (MIC = 0.6 μM) against Gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus rhodochrous. Some peptides also demonstrated weak hemolytic activity against human erythrocytes in vitro. Phylogenetic analysis based on the amino acid sequences of brevinin-1, brevinin-2, and esculentin-2 peptides from family Ranidae confirmed that the current taxonomic status of A. chunganensis is correct.     

同一噪音环境下武夷湍蛙与凹耳蛙的求偶鸣声特征比较及其适应策略

为了解同域分布的两种无尾两栖类动物武夷湍蛙(Amolops wuyiensis)和凹耳蛙(Odorrana tormotus)在高噪音环境下的求偶鸣声特征及其适应策略,该研究利用超声录音设备录制并分析了繁殖季节武夷湍蛙和凹耳蛙雄性个体在同一噪音环境下的求偶鸣声。结果显示,繁殖期武夷湍蛙在不同时段均能发出3~6个音节数不等的单一鸣声,每个音节由2~10个声脉冲组成,鸣声平均持续时间为2198.20ms,主频为2231.90Hz,信噪声强差为33.00dB,且鸣声不含超声组分,不具备超声通讯的基础。凹耳蛙在每天的18:00—21:00有集中鸣叫行为,鸣声平均持续时间为331.80ms,主频为6665.50Hz,信噪声强差为37.00dB,且鸣声谐波包含超声组分,与前人描述一致。经进一步分析发现,武夷湍蛙和凹耳蛙的鸣声主频和声强均高于背景噪音,噪音不会对其鸣声产生掩蔽作用。通过比较分析得知,武夷湍蛙鸣声主频率<凹耳蛙,推测其声信号传播距离相对后者更远,该蛙在噪音环境下有可能通过调整自身的发声策略(即采用多音节鸣叫声、增加鸣叫时长和鸣叫频次等)来完成种内通讯,并通过改变鸣声时长来体现雄性自身的品质,以便提高对雌性的吸引力。而相同噪音环境下的凹耳蛙则可能采用较为节约能量的方式提高声信号频率的通讯策略,完成种内竞争和交流。     

武夷湍蛙胃肠道内分泌细胞的免疫组织化学定位

用免疫组织化学S-P法,应用七种特异性胃肠激素抗血清对武夷湍蛙胃肠道7个部位内分泌细胞的局部分布、分布密度及形态学特征进行了研究。结果显示：在武夷湍蛙胃肠道中鉴别出四种内分泌细胞,即：5-羟色胺、生长抑素、胃泌素和高血糖素免疫反应细胞。P-物质、胰岛素和胰多肽免疫反应细胞未见。5．羟色胺免疫反应细胞是胃肠道中最主要的内分泌细胞类型,其在胃肠道各段均有分布,但在各段分布密度不同。生长抑制素免疫反应细胞分布于贲门至十二指肠的胃肠道各段。胃泌素免疫反应细胞局限分布于幽门和十二指肠部位。高血糖素免疫反应细胞仅在胃幽门部位有分布。在武夷湍蛙胃肠道内具有最多种类型内分泌细胞分布的部位是幽门,同时胃肠道内各种内分泌细胞在此部位也显示出最高的分布密度。武夷湍蛙胃肠道内分泌细胞形态多样：圆形、椭圆形、纺锤形、梭形、锥形和不规则形。胃部多数内分泌细胞分布于胃腺中,肠道中多数细胞则分布于上皮细胞间,少数分布于固有膜。本研究显示武夷湍蛙与其他两栖动物胃肠道内分泌细胞在分布模式上存在一定共同特征并具其独特性,以上结果提示其与武夷湍蛙消化生理学相关,和其胃肠道的调节特点相关。     

湖南壶瓶山国家级自然保护区华南湍蛙种群监测

2004年5～11月,在湖南壶瓶山国家级自然保护区,采用标志一重捕法对华南湍蛙种群进行了生态监测,结果发现,华南湍蛙出蛰以后种群开始增加,繁殖期过后种群开始下降。在壶瓶山当气温低于10℃以下时,华南湍蛙就开始进入冬眠期。种群的存活率从出蛰到再次冬眠期间基本上呈直线下降,在8月之前种群中均有新添加的数量,以后未发现。在整个过程中,雌雄性比一般大于1,在繁殖季节基本接近于1。     

食鱼蝙蝠——大足鼠耳蝠初报

大足鼠耳蝠属蝙蝠科,为中国特有种类。食性分析和野外观察证实大足鼠耳蝠为食鱼蝙蝠。室内放养条件下发现大足鼠耳蝠一次进食能连续消耗5．0—10．0g麦穗鱼。本研究首次报道北京房山亦有大足鼠耳蝠分布,并介绍了其地理分布和保护现状。     

Two families of antimicrobial peptides with multiple functions from skin of rufous-spotted torrent frog, Amolops loloensis

There are around 27 species of Amolops amphibian distributed in South-east of Asia. Seven antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) belonging to two different families were purified from skin of rufous-spotted torrent frog, Amolops loloensis, and designated brevinins-ALa, b, c, and d, and temporins-ALa, b, and c. The brevinins-AL family which is structurally related to brevinins-1 from skin secretions of the European frog, Rana brevipoda, is composed of 24 amino acids and has an intra-disulfide bridge at the C-terminus. The temporins-AL family, composed of 13 or 16 amino acid residues, is related with temporins from the skin secretions of R. temporaria. The findings of this study will facilitate the solutions to the taxonomic questions of the ranid genus Amolops and Staurois. In the work of this paper, both brevinins-ALb and temporin-Ma induced mast cell degranulation and histamine release, and had cytotoxic activity toward solid tumor cell line HepG₂. Brevinins-ALb also exerted strong hemolytic activity while temporin-Ma had no such activity.     

贵州省两栖类新记录种——中华湍蛙及其蝌蚪描述

2015-2018年在贵州省梵净山国家级自然保护区和雷公山国家级自然保护区采集到湍蛙属Amolops 3号成体标本及1号蝌蚪标本,经过系统发育分析和形态学比较,确定为中华湍蛙Amolops sinensis,为贵州省两栖动物新记录。另外,本文首次对该种的蝌蚪进行了形态描述。     

An exception to the matched filter hypothesis: A mismatch of male call frequency and female best hearing frequency in a torrent frog

The matched filter hypothesis proposes that the tuning of auditory sensitivity and the spectral character of calls will match in order to maximize auditory processing efficiency during courtship. In this study, we analyzed the acoustic structure of male calls and both male and female hearing sensitivities in the little torrent frog (Amolops torrentis), an anuran species who transmits acoustic signals across streams. The results were in striking contradiction to the matched filter hypothesis. Auditory brainstem response results showed that the best hearing range was 1.6–2 kHz consistent with the best sensitive frequency of most terrestrial lentic taxa, yet completely mismatched with the dominant frequency of conspecific calls (4.3 kHz). Moreover, phonotaxis tests show that females strongly prefer high‐frequency (4.3 kHz) over low‐frequency calls (1.6 kHz) regardless of ambient noise levels, although peripheral auditory sensitivity is highest in the 1.6–2 kHz range. These results are consistent with the idea that A. torrentis evolved from nonstreamside species and that high‐frequency calls evolved under the pressure of stream noise. Our results also suggest that female preferences based on central auditory system characteristics may evolve independently of peripheral auditory system sensitivity in order to maximize communication effectiveness in noisy environments.     

基于12S rRNA基因序列探讨凹耳蛙(无尾目,蛙科)的分类地位

为探讨凹耳蛙Rana tormotus的分类地位,测定了凹耳蛙线粒体12S rRNA基因序列,并从GenBank中下载了蛙科33种蛙的同源序列进行分析,用BI法、NJ法和MP法构建分子系统树.结果表明:3种树拓扑结构基本一致,都显示凹耳蛙与长吻胡湍蛙Huia nasica亲缘关系最近,凹耳蛙与长吻胡湍蛙相聚后再与臭蛙Odorrana组成单系群,而与湍蛙Amolops亲缘关系较远.据此,支持将该蛙从湍蛙属划出,并建议归入臭蛙属.