SummaryMany types of crops are severely affected by at least one important bacterial disease. Chemical control of bacterial plant diseases in the field vastly relies on copper‐based bactericides, yet with limited efficacy. In this study, we explored the potential of two random peptide mixture (RPM) models as novel crop protection agents. These unique peptide mixtures consist of random combination of l‐phenylalanine and l‐ or d‐lysine (FK‐20 and FdK‐20, respectively) along the 20 mer chain length of the peptides. Both RPMs displayed powerful bacteriostatic and bactericidal activities towards strains belonging to several plant pathogenic bacterial genera, for example, Xanthomonas, Clavibacter and Pseudomonas. In planta studies in the glasshouse revealed that RPMs significantly reduced disease severity of tomato and kohlrabi plants infected with Xanthomonas perforans and Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris respectively. Moreover, RPM effects on reduction in disease severity were similar to those exerted by the commercial copper‐based bactericide Kocide 2000 that was applied at a 12‐fold higher concentration of the active compound relative to the RPM treatments. Importantly, the two tested RPM compounds had no toxic effect on survival of bees and Caco‐2 mammalian cells. This study demonstrates the potential of these innovative RPMs to serve as crop protection agents against crop diseases caused by phytopathogenic bacteria.

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In the current study, we showed that randomly-sequenced peptide mixtures (RPMs) that were immobilized on beads exhibit high and broad bactericidal activity against various pathogenic bacteria while possessing minimal hemolytic activity.

The emergence of global antibiotic resistance necessitates the urgent need to develop new and effective antimicrobial agents. Combination of two antimicrobial agents can potentially improve antimicrobial potency and mitigate the development of resistance. Therefore, we have utilized metal molecular doping methodology whereby antimicrobial random peptides mixture (RPMs) are entrapped in a bactericidal copper metal matrix. The copper/RPM composite exhibits greater antimicrobial activity toward methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than either copper or RPMs alone. Our findings indicate that this bactericidal antimicrobial biomaterial could be utilized to efficiently eradicate antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria for health, agricultural and environmental applications.