Protoiurus kraepelini is a scorpion species found in parts of Turkey and Greece. In this study, the peptide profile of its venom was determined for the first time. The electrophoretic profile of the crude venom showed a protein distribution from 2 to 130 kDa. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2018) 42: 490-497 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Peptidomic characterization and bioactivity of Protoiurus kraepelini (Scorpiones: Iuridae) venom 1,2 3,4 5 5 5 Tuğba SOMAY DOĞAN , Naşit İĞCİ , Ayşenur BİBER , Selin GEREKÇİ , Hepşen Hazal HÜSNÜGİL , 2 1,5,6, Afife İZBIRAK , Can ÖZEN * 1 Central Laboratory, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey 3 Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Nevşehir, Turkey 4 Science and Technology Research and Application Center, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Nevşehir, Turkey 5 Graduate Program of Biotechnology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey 6 Center of Excellence in Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Protoiurus kraepelini is a scorpion species found in parts of Turkey and Greece. In this study, the peptide profile of its venom was determined for the first time. The electrophoretic profile of the crude venom showed a protein distribution from 2 to 130 kDa. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the venom peptide fraction yielded 27 peptides between 1059 and 4623 Da in mass. Several ion channelblocking and antimicrobial peptides were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting analysis. Cytotoxic and antimicrobial effects of the venom were also demonstrated on Jurkat cells and Escherichia coli, respectively. As the first peptidomic characterization study on P. kraepelini venom, this report lays the foundation for detailed future studies that may lead to the discovery of novel bioactive peptides. Key words: Scorpion venom, peptide, peptidomics, antimicrobial effect, cytotoxicity, mass spectrometry 1. .
