Determination of antifungal activity and presence of a lipid transfer peptide in Chamaemelum nobile

Chamaemelum nobile, or Roman chamomile, is a plant containing anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are part of the plant defense system including lipid transfer peptides (LPTs). Our objective is to identify a LTP-related protein from C. nobile (cnLTP). PCR was performed on C. nobile DNA for identifying cnLTP gene. Bioinformatics was used for their characterization, and a sensitivity test was carried out on Rhizoctonia solani. cnLTP has 99 amino acids, 9.8 kDa, isoelectric point of 9.39, 33 aliphatic residues, aliphatic index of 85, hydropathicity of 0.127, four alpha-helices and four disulfide bridges. An inhibitory activity of apoplastic fluid of C. nobile was determined at 1 µg/mL on R. solani. This study contributes in the knowledge of a novel and non-characterized LTP using in silico and experimental related approaches.