A NOVEL SUITE OF CYCLOTIDES: SEQUENCE VARIATION AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR STRUCTURE, FUNCTION AND STABILITY

摘要

Cyclotides are a growing family of head-to-tail macrocyclic plant-derived peptides Typically 28-37 amino acids, they are defined by their unique knotted disulfide topology linking six conserved cystine residues and their characteristic cyclic backbone. This feature, referred to as the cyclic cystine knot (CCK) motif, engenders cyclotides with remarkable thermal, chemical and enzymatic stability Aside from a fundamental interest in their protein topology and their in-planta cyclization mechanism, their proposed native function as a combinatorial template for which to target an array of insect pests and pathogens together with their remarkable chemical properties suggest that they may have applications in drug design programs.