A sapecin homologue of Holotrichia diomphalia: purification, sequencing and determination of disulfide pairs.

We purified and characterized a sapecin homologue, named holotricin 1, from the hemolymph of immunized larvae of a coleopteran insect, Holotrichia diomphalia. We determined its complete amino acid sequence and three disulfide pairs. Holotricin 1 consisted of 43 amino acid residues and showed potent antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria, but antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria was not obvious.