Identification, Synthesis, and In Vitro Activities of Antimicrobial Peptide from African Catfish against the Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-Producing Escherichia coli

Abstract

The global surge in multi-drug resistant bacteria, including extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing <i>Escherichia coli</i> has led to a growing need for new antibacterial compounds. Despite being promising, the potential of fish-derived antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in combating ESBL-producing <i>E. coli</i> is largely unexplored. In this study, native African catfish antimicrobial peptides (NACAPs) were extracted from the skin mucus of farmed African catfish, <i>Clarias gariepinus</i>, using a combination of 10% acetic acid solvent hydrolysis, 5 kDa ultrafiltration, and C₁₈ hydrophobic interaction chromatography. Peptides were then sequenced using Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Tribrid Mass Spectrometry. The identified peptides were screened for potential antibacterial activity using Random Forest and AdaBoost machine learning algorithms. The most promising peptide was chemically synthesized and evaluated in vitro for safety on rabbit red blood cells and activity against ESBL-producing <i>E. coli</i> (ATCC 35218) utilizing spot-on-lawn and broth dilution methods. Eight peptides ranging from 13 to 22 amino acids with molecular weights between 968.42 and 2434.11 Da were identified. Peptide NACAP-II was non-hemolytic to rabbit erythrocytes (<i>p</i> > 0.05) with a zone of inhibition (ZOI) of 22.7 ± 0.9 mm and a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 91.3 ± 1.2 μg/mL. The peptide is thus a candidate antibacterial compound with enormous potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry. However, further studies are still required to establish an upscale production strategy and optimize its activity and safety in vivo.