Shedding Light on the Antimicrobial Peptide Arsenal of Terrestrial Isopods: Focus on Armadillidins, a New Crustacean AMP Family

Abstract

In crustaceans, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are clustered into four major groups according to their amino acid composition and structure: (1) single-domain peptides containing cysteine residues such as anti-lipopolysaccharide-factor (ALF), (2) multi-domain or chimeric AMPs such as crustins, (3) non-conventional AMPs, and (4) linear single-domain AMPs. The majority of AMPs has been described in commercially exploited crustaceans, particularly decapods living in aquatic environments (crab, shrimp, lobster, and crayfish). Here, we aimed at establishing the AMPs repertoire of terrestrial isopods (Oniscidea), an original suborder of crustaceans adapted to life outside of the aquatic environment. Using transcriptomic data from 21 species, we identified 110 ALF and 73 crustin sequences. We also characterized the full-length sequence of armadillidins from 17 species, similar to the AMP previously described in the terrestrial isopod Armadillidium vulgare. Furthermore, we tested the antimicrobial activity of three armadillidin peptides characterized from three distantly related species. This analysis revealed similar activity spectra against pathogens, despite extensive structural variation among the tested peptides. In addition to conventional crustacean AMPs, our work highlights armadillidins as a new and independent family of AMPs specific to the Oniscidea, thus opening new perspectives concerning the study of the immune system of terrestrial isopods.