plant ureases and related peptides understanding their entomotoxic properties植物脲酶和相关肽了解他们entomotoxic属性.pdfVIP

Toxins 2012, 4, 55-67; doi:10.3390/toxins4020055 OPEN ACCESS toxins ISSN 2072-6651 /journal/toxins Review Plant Ureases and Related Peptides: Understanding Their Entomotoxic Properties Fernanda Stanisçuaski 1,* and Célia R. Carlini 2 1 Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Brazil 2 Department of Biophysics and Center of Biotechnology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Bento Gonçalves 9500, Porto Alegre, 91501-970, Brazil; E-Mail: ccarlini@ufrgs.br * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: fernanda.staniscuaski@ufrgs.br; Tel.: +55-51-3308-9525; Fax: +55-51-3308-7606. Received: 1 December 2011; in revised form: 5 January 2012 / Accepted: 11 January 2012 / Published: 1 February 2012 Abstract: Recently, ureases were included in the arsenal of plant defense proteins, alongside many other proteins with biotechnological potential such as insecticides. Isoforms of Canavalia ensiformis urease (canatoxin—CNTX and jack bean urease—JBURE-I) are toxic to insects of different orders. This toxicity is due in part to the release of a 10 kDa peptide from the native protein, by cathepsin-like enzymes present in the insect digestive tract. The entomotoxic peptide, Jaburetox-2Ec, exhibits potent insecticidal activity against several insects, including many resistant to the native ureases. JBURE-I and Jaburetox-2Ec cause major alterations of post-feeding physiol