Application of antimicrobial peptides in agriculture and food industry

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides have captured the attention of researchers in recent years because of their efficiency in fighting against pathogens. These peptides are found in nature and have been isolated from a wide range of organisms. Furthermore, analogs or synthetic derivatives have successfully been developed on the basis of natural peptide patterns. Long use of pesticides and antibiotics has led to development of resistance among pathogens and other pests as well as increase of environmental and health risks. Antimicrobial peptides are under consideration as new substitutes for conventional pesticides and antibiotics. Many plants and animals have been manipulated with antimicrobial peptide-encoding genes and several pesticides and drugs have been produced based on these peptides. Such strategies and products may still have a long way to go before being confirmed by regulatory bodies and others need to surmount technical problems before being accepted as applicable ones. In spite of these facts, several cases of successful use of antimicrobial peptides in agriculture and food industry indicate a promising future for extensive application of these peptides. In this review, we consider the developing field of antimicrobial peptide applications in various agricultural activities.

Expression, purification and characterization of the recombinant cysteine-rich antimicrobial peptide snakin-1 in Pichia pastoris

“…They are potent and bioactive, and provide a rich source of lead compounds for the discovery of promising novel antibiotics [3]. Due to their low toxicity to eukaryotic cells [4], AMPs can be widely used in the fields of pharmaceutics [3,5], cosmetology [6], veterinary medicine [7], and aquaculture [8], as well as in agricultural and food industries [9]. These peptides exhibit antimicrobial actions on target cells in various ways, such as by perturbation of the microbial cell membrane, or by inhibition of the synthesis of nucleic acids, proteins, enzymes, and cell-wall components that are essential for the survival of microorganisms [10].…”

Antimicrobial, Antioxidant and Hemolytic Activity of Water-soluble Extract of Mottled Anemone Urticina crassicornis

“…are especially important in invertebrates, in which they play an essential role in innate immunity. Due to their broad spectrum of activity against a range of bacteria, fungi, enveloped viruses and parasites (Brown and Hancock, 2006;Izadpanah and Gallo, 2005;Mohan et al, 2010;Vizioli and Salzet, 2002), as well as their selectivity, speed of action and low propensity for the development of bacterial resistance, AMPs are ideal candidates for development of clinical, aquacultural and agricultural agents (Bradshaw, 2003;Keymanesh et al, 2009;Noga et al, 2011). However, their susceptibility to proteolytic degradation and toxicity to mammalian cells must be overcome.…”

Manipulation of the tyrothricin production profile of Bacillus aneurinolyticus

“…Furthermore, reduced toxicities of the antimicrobial peptides through greater selectivity toward the more negatively charged bacterial cell membrane allow them to discriminate between pathogen targets and the neutral membranes of plants and animals (Javadpour et al, 1996;Matsuzaki et al, 1991Matsuzaki et al, , 1995Qin et al, 2003). Consequently, antimicrobial peptides show potential in the development of therapeutic agents to treat resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms or to serve as bio-pesticides and preservatives (Brul & Coote, 1999;Cleveland et al, 2001;Keymanesh et al, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, reduced toxicities of the antimicrobial peptides through greater selectivity toward the more negatively charged bacterial cell membrane allow them to discriminate between pathogen targets and the neutral membranes of plants and animals (Javadpour et al, 1996;Matsuzaki et al, 1991Matsuzaki et al, , 1995Qin et al, 2003). Consequently, antimicrobial peptides show potential in the development of therapeutic agents to treat resistant strains of pathogenic microorganisms or to serve as bio-pesticides and preservatives (Brul & Coote, 1999;Cleveland et al, 2001;Keymanesh et al, 2009).A major limitation to the large-scale use of antimicrobial peptides has been the cost and efficiency of their production (Bradshaw, 2003;Gordon et al, 2005;Marr et al, 2006;Yeaman & Yount, 2003). Automated chemical synthesis to produce antimicrobial peptides remains very costly (Hancock & Lehrer, 1998;Hancock & Sahl, 2006;Marr et al, 2006), while use of transgenic organisms for the production of antimicrobial peptides, either directly (De Bolle et al, 1996; François et al, 2002;Yarus et al, 1996) or as fusion proteins (Lee et al, 2000;Li, 2011;Moon et al, 2007), is limited to ribosomally produced antimicrobial peptides.…”