Antimicrobial Peptides with Unusual Amino Acid Compositions and Unusual Structures

Title: Antimicrobial Peptides with Unusual Amino Acid Compositions and Unusual Structures

Volume: 13 Issue: 6

Author(s): N. Sitaram

Affiliation:

Keywords: Aromatic amino acid-rich peptides, PR-rich peptides, Unusual defensins and defensin-like peptides, Unusual antimicrobial peptides from amphibians, Bacteriocins with unusual structures, Anionic antimicrobial peptides

Abstract: Antimicrobial peptides, which constitute an important component of innate immunity in animal and plant kingdom, are ubiquitously distributed in nature. However, they differ widely in their sizes, sequences and structures. On the basis of their structure they have been broadly classified into three classes: a) linear peptides with propensity for amphiphilic a-helical structure, b) peptides with β or αβ structure stabilized by different number of disulfide bridges and c) peptides with over-representation of certain amino acids or unusual structures. Although considerable amount of work has been done on peptides of all the three classes, recent reviews have emphasized on peptides belonging to the first two classes. The present review focuses on the peptides belonging to the third group. The antimicrobial peptides discussed in this article include aromatic amino acid-rich peptides, (Pro-Arg)-rich peptides, unusual defensins and defensin-like molecules, unusual antimicrobial peptides from amphibians, bacteriocins with unusual structure and anionic antimicrobial peptides.

Cite this article as:

Sitaram N., Antimicrobial Peptides with Unusual Amino Acid Compositions and Unusual Structures, Current Medicinal Chemistry 2006; 13 (6) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/092986706776055689