The discovery of a novel peptide, QUB-2023, from Rana amurensis

The abundant antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) discovered in amphibian skin secretions have raised the interest of many researchers not only because of their broad spectrum of actions against many clinically-relevant microorganisms but also their superiority over conventional antibiotics.<br><br>This investigation has led to the discovery of a novel peptide QUB-2023, from the skin secretion of Rana amurensis. This was achieved by “shotgun” cloning.

Solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) and Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) were applied to obtain a sufficient quantity of pure peptide replicate. The primary structure of the peptide was confirmed by MALDI-TOF (matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation-time of flight) mass spectrometry. QUB-2023 displayed antimicrobial activity against three microorganisms: the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, the Gram-negative bacterium Escherichia coli and the yeast Candida albicans.