Interspecies Bombolitins Exhibit Structural Diversity upon Membrane Binding, Leading to Cell Specificity.

Bombolitins, a class of peptides produced by bees of the genus Bombus, target and disrupt cellular membranes, leading to lysis. Antimicrobial peptides exhibit various mechanisms of action resulting from the interplay between peptide structure, lipid composition, and cellular target membrane selectivity. Herein, two bombolitins displaying significant amino-acid-sequence similarity, BII and BL6, were assessed for antimicrobial activity as well as correlated dodecylphosphocholine (DPC) micelle binding and membrane-induced peptide conformational changes.