[Molecular cloning of cDNAs coding Sarcophaga diptericin family]

We purified an antibacterial protein named sarcotoxin III from the hemolymph of injured larvae of Sarcophaga peregrina (Baba K., et al., J. Biochem., 102, 69-74 (1987)). In this report we determined the partial amino acid sequence of sarcotoxin III and tried to conduct the cloning of sarcotoxin III cDNA. As a result we obtained two clones coding a protein similar to sarcotoxin III in sequence. Their primary structures are highly homologous to N-terminal sequences of an antibacterial protein from Phormia, diptericin, and another 8 kD antibacterial protein purified from Sarcophaga peregrina. These results suggested that sarcotoxin III is one of the proteins forming a diptericin family in Sarcophaga peregrina as well as newly obtained clone-coded products and 8 kD protein.