Characterisation of a novel crustin isoform from mud crab, Scylla serrata (Forsskål, 1775) and its functional analysis in silico

A 336-base pair (bp) sized mRNA sequence encoding 111 amino acid size crustin isoform (MC-crustin) was obtained from the gill sample of the green mud crab, Scylla serrata. MC-crustin possessed an N-terminal signal peptide region comprising of 21 amino acid residues, followed by a 90 amino acid mature peptide region having a molecular weight of 10.164 kDa, charge + 4.25 and theoretical pI of 8.27. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree analyses revealed the peptide to be a Type I crustin, with four conserved cysteine residues forming the cysteine rich region, followed by WAP domain. MC-crustin was cationic with cysteine/proline rich structure and was predicted with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-angiogenic and anti-hypertensive property making it a potential molecule for possible therapeutic applications.