Fig 1.

Multiple-amino-acid alignment of HD5 analogs and selected human, rabbit, and rat antiviral alpha-defensins (http://aps.unmc.edu/AP/main.php). The numbering on the top is that of HD5. Notice that all natural antiviral defensins and HD5 analogs contain conserved amino acids at special sites (in light red against a yellow background). (Upper portion) HD5 analogs contain mutated Arg residues boxed in red. (Middle portion) HD5 harbors 14 residues undergoing positive evolution (underlined in black) predicted by maximum likelihood methods (16). Lower portion, sequence characteristics of natural antiviral defensins derived from different mammals. The Arg residue distributed in at least four kinds of antiviral defensins corresponding to the variable sites in HD5 is boxed in blue.