Barrettides: A Peptide Family Specifically Produced by the Deep-Sea Sponge Geodia barretti

J Nat Prod. 2021 Dec 24;84(12):3138-3146. doi: 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.1c00938. Epub 2021 Dec 7.

Abstract

Natural product discovery by isolation and structure elucidation is a laborious task often requiring ample quantities of biological starting material and frequently resulting in the rediscovery of previously known compounds. However, peptides are a compound class amenable to an alternative genomic, transcriptomic, and in silico discovery route by similarity searches of known peptide sequences against sequencing data. Based on the sequences of barrettides A and B, we identified five new barrettide sequences (barrettides C-G) predicted from the North Atlantic deep-sea demosponge Geodia barretti (Geodiidae). We synthesized, folded, and investigated one of the newly described barrettides, barrettide C (NVVPCFCVEDETSGAKTCIPDNCDASRGTNP, disulfide connectivity I-IV, II-III). Co-elution experiments of synthetic and sponge-derived barrettide C confirmed its native conformation. NMR spectroscopy and the anti-biofouling activity on larval settlement of the bay barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus (IC50 0.64 μM) show that barrettide C is highly similar to barrettides A and B in both structure and function. Several lines of evidence suggest that barrettides are produced by the sponge itself and not one of its microbial symbionts.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Ecosystem
  • Geodia / metabolism*
  • Peptides / chemistry
  • Peptides / metabolism*
  • Seawater

Substances

  • Peptides