Innate immunity is the first line defense of multicellular organisms that rapidly operates to limit aggression upon exposure to pathogen microorganisms. Although the existence of some antibacterial
peptides in
scorpion venoms suggests that
venom gland could be protected by these effector molecules, antibacterial activity of
venom itself has not been assessed. In this study, we reported the antibacterial activity of the
venom of Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii.
Protease K digestion test indicated that it is
venom peptide/
protein components, as key players, which are involved in such antibacterial response. As the first step toward studying molecular mechanism of
scorpion venom gland immunity, we established an
infection model which supports inducible antibacterial response of
scorpion venom gland. A known B. martensii antibacterial
peptide gene BmKb1 was up-regulated at the transcriptional level after
venom gland was challenged, suggesting its key defense role. This is further strengthened by the presence of several immune response elements in the BmKb1 promoter region. Our work thus provides the first evidence supporting the role of
venom antibacterial
peptides (ABPs) in controlling
scorpion venom gland
infection and lays a basis for characterizing related components involved in regulation of
scorpion venom gland ABP gene expression.