Different expression profiles of bioactive peptides in Pelophylax nigromaculatus from distinct regions

Amphibian skin is an abundant repository of bioactive peptides, important components of the defensive system. The variability of the bioactive peptide repertoires of individual species remains unclear. In this study, dark-spotted frogs were collected from Kunming in Yunnan Province, China and Guiyang in Guizhou Province, China to determine whether the bioactive peptides in amphibian skin differ between the two regions. Eight antimicrobial peptides and an antioxidant peptide were identified by screening of cDNA library. Among the identified peptides, three antimicrobial peptides (pelophylaxin-2GY, temporin-1GY, and temporin-1KM) and an antioxidant peptide (antioxidin-PN) are reported here for the first time. Nigrocin-1, nigrocin-2, and pelophylaxin-2 were expressed by frogs in both regions. Pelophylaxin-2GY and temporin-1GY were found only in the frogs from Guiyang, whereas antioxidin-PN, esculetin-1, esculetin-2, and temporin-1KM were found only in those from Kunming. This difference was confirmed by allele-specific RT-PCR. The bioactive peptides expressed clearly varied between these populations of the same species.