Ecology and Protein Composition of Polypedates leucomystax (Gravenhorst, 1829) (Anura: Rhacophoridae) Foam Nests from Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

The four-lined tree frog, Polypedates leucomystax, spawns its eggs in a moist structure called a foam nest. Four foam nests constructed by this species were collected from the Sungai Sedim Recreational Forest, Kedah, Peninsular Malaysia. Two foam nests were found deposited on the leaves of low vegetation hanging over a rock pool. One was attached inside a water tank, and one was found on grass near an ephemeral puddle. In the laboratory, the foam nests were freeze-dried and the protein concentrations quantified, fractionated, and analyzed using LC-MS/MS. Twenty-two proteins, including seven enzymes, six structural proteins, five regulatory proteins, three receptors, and one antimicrobial peptide (AMP) were found in the foam nests. The function of the AMP (brevinin-2 type) is believed to protect the frog eggs from pathogenic microorganisms.