Many genes involved in Drosophila melanogaster innate immune processes have been identified, but whether naturally occurring polymorphism in these genes leads to variation in immune competence among wild flies has not been tested. We report here substantial variability among wild-derived D. melanogaster in the ability to suppress infection by a Gram-negative entomopathogen, Serratia marcescens....

The presence of the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) biosynthetic genes srfAA (surfactin), bacA (bacylisin), fenD (fengycin), bmyB (bacyllomicin), spaS (subtilin), and ituC (iturin) was examined in 184 isolates of Bacillus spp. obtained from plant environments (aerial, rhizosphere, soil) in the Mediterranean land area of Spain. Most strains had between two and four AMP genes whereas strains with fiv...

Objective(s): Despite recent advances in treatment modalities, cancer remains a major source of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Currently, the development of sensitive and specific molecular imaging probes for early diagnosis of cancer is still a problematic challenge. Previous studies have been shown that some of the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exhibit...

The influence of extracytoplasmic proteases on the resistance of Escherichia coli to the antimicrobial peptide protamine was investigated by testing strains with deletions in the protease genes degP, ptr, and ompT. Only DeltaompT strains were hypersusceptible to protamine. This effect was abolished by plasmids carrying ompT. Both at low and at high Mg2+ concentrations, ompT+ strains cleared pro...

Recent developments in the understanding of molecular diffusion phenomena in membranes are reviewed. Both model bilayers and biological membranes are considered in respect of lateral diffusion, rotational diffusion and transverse diffusion (flip-flop). For model systems, particular attention is paid to recent data obtained using surface-specific techniques such as sum frequency generation vibra...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0170382.].

Amphiphilicity and cationicity are properties shared between antimicrobial peptides and proteins that catalyze biomineralization reactions. Merging these two functionalities, we demonstrate a reaction where a cationic antimicrobial peptide catalyzes self-biomineralization within inorganic matrices. The resultant antimicrobial peptide nanoparticles retain biocidal activity, protect the peptide f...

A challenge when designing membrane-active peptide antibiotics with therapeutic potential is how to ensure a useful antibacterial activity whilst avoiding unacceptable cytotoxicity for host cells. Understanding their mode of interaction with membranes and the reasons underlying their ability to distinguish between bacterial and eukaryotic cytoplasmic cells is crucial for any rational attempt to...

Nisin is an antimicrobial peptide produced and secreted by several L. lactis strains and is specifically active against Gram-positive bacteria. In previous studies, nisin was purified via cation exchange chromatography at low pH employing a single-step elution using 1 M NaCl. Here, we describe an optimized purification protocol using a five-step NaCl elution to remove contaminants. The obtained...

A novel class of antibiotics based on the antimicrobial properties of immune peptides of multicellular organisms is attracting increasing interest as a major weapon against resistant microbes. It has been claimed that cationic antimicrobial peptides exploit fundamental features of the bacterial cell so that resistance is much less likely to evolve than in the case of conventional antibiotics. P...