In silico characterization of class II plant defensins from Arabidopsis thaliana

Defensins comprise a polyphyletic group of multifunctional defense peptides. Cis-defensins, also known as cysteine stabilized αβ (CSαβ) defensins, are one of the most ancient defense peptide families. In plants, these peptides have been divided into two classes, according to their precursor organization. Class I defensins are composed of the signal peptide and the mature sequence, while class II defensins have an additional C-terminal prodomain, which is proteolytically cleaved. Class II defensins have been described in Solanaceae and Poaceae species, indicating this class could be spread among all flowering plants. Here, a search by regular expression (RegEx) was applied to the Arabidopsis thaliana proteome, a model plant with more than 300 predicted defensin genes. Two sequences were identified, A7REG2 and A7REG4, which have a typical plant defensin structure and an additional C-terminal prodomain. TraVA database indicated they are expressed in flower, ovules and seeds, and being duplicated genes, this indicates they could be a result of a subfunctionalization process. The presence of class II defensin sequences in Brassicaceae and Solanaceae and evolutionary distance between them suggest class II defensins may be present in other eudicots. Discovery of class II defensins in other plants could shed some light on flower, ovules and seed physiology, as this class is expressed in these locations.