Termite ß (1,3)- glucanases; mining antimicrobial compounds for the treatment of human diseases?

Termites have evolved multiple mechanisms to resist disease. Notably, termites and several other soil-dwelling organisms produce and excrete potent antimicrobial compounds, including β(1,3)-glucanases which are known to breakdown glucans, a major component of the bacterial cell envelope and fungal cell walls.  The main objectives of this research are to 1) identify β(1,3)- glucanases from Zootermopsis angusticollis via amplification of the gene unitizing 3' RACE and conserved gene regions for subsequent sequencing; and 2) test whether these termite-derived β(1,3)- glucanases have antimicrobial activity against human pathogens. We have identified the protein based on its activity, and have fractioned the termite sample into multiple components via the use of High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) on a size exclusion (SE) column.  Although each sample on its own has no glucanase activity, both the reconstituted HPLC products and certain pairwise combinations of SE-HPLC products re-established activity in chromogenic gels. This suggested that two or more fractions are synergistic.  In vitro assays indentified the fractions responsible for the fungistatic activity against Metarhizium anisopliae, a common entomopathogenic fungus.  Currently, these fractions are being tested against Candida albicans, a human yeast pathogen.  We expect this innovative approach of tapping termite-derived compounds in the control of certain human pathogens to be successful given that these enzymes are environmentally stable and show high potency, having being “fashioned” by natural selection over millions of years.