Identification, structural characterisation and expression analysis of a defensin gene from the tiger beetle Calomera littoralis (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae)

•A defensin gene (Clit-def) has been characterised in the tiger beetle Calomera littoralis.•The phylogenetic analyses showed a high variability in the coleopteran defensins.•The Clit-Def mature peptide has the features to be involved in the antimicrobial function.•Expression analyses indicated that Clit-def might be involved in the humoral system in Adephaga.

In this study, a defensin gene (Clit-Def) has been characterised in the tiger beetle Calomera littoralis for the first time. Bioinformatic analysis showed that the gene has an open reading frame of 246 bp that contains a 46 amino acid mature peptide. The phylogenetic analysis showed a high variability in the coleopteran defensins analysed. The Clit-Def mature peptide has the features to be involved in the antimicrobial function: a predicted cationic isoelectric point of 8.94, six cysteine residues that form three disulfide bonds, and the typical cysteine-stabilized α-helix β-sheet (CSαβ) structural fold. Real time quantitative PCR analysis showed that Clit-Def was upregulated in the different body parts analysed after infection with lipopolysaccharides of Escherichia coli, and also indicated that has an expression peak at 12 h post infection. The expression patterns of Clit-Def suggest that this gene plays important roles in the humoral system in the adephagan beetle Calomera littoralis.