Group 3 LEA protein model peptides protect enzymes against desiccation stress

• We studied model peptides derived from one of the group-3 LEA protein sequences.
• The model peptides are chemically-synthesized 22- and 44-mer peptides.
• These peptides preserved the catalytic activity of enzymes in the dry state.
• The protective effect is comparable to that of some native LEA proteins.
• The model peptides show promise as protectants for dry preservation of enzymes.

We tested whether model peptides for group 3 late embryogenesis abundant (G3LEA) proteins, which we developed previously, are capable of maintaining the catalytic activities of enzymes dried in their presence. Three different peptides were compared: 1) PvLEA-22, which consists of two tandem repeats of the 11-mer motif found in G3LEA proteins from an African sleeping chironomid; 2) PvLEA-44, which is made of four tandem repeats of the same 11-mer motif; and 3) a peptide whose amino acid composition is the same as that of PvLEA-22, but whose sequence is scrambled. We selected two enzymes, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and β-d-galactosidase (BDG), as targets because they have different isoelectric point (pI) values, in the alkaline and acidic range, respectively. While these enzymes were almost inactivated when dried alone, their catalytic activity was preserved at ≥ 70% of native levels in the presence of any of the above three peptides. This degree of protection is comparable to that conferred by several full-length G3LEA proteins, as reported previously for LDH. Interestingly, the protective activity of the peptides was enhanced slightly when they were mixed with trehalose, especially when the molar content of the peptides was low. On the basis of these results, the G3LEA model peptides show promise as protectants for the dry preservation of enzymes/proteins with a wide range of pI values.

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