De-novo design of antimicrobial peptides for plant protection.
This work describes the de-novo design of peptides that inhibit a broad range of plant pathogens. Four structurally different groups of peptides were developed that differ in size and position of their charged and hydrophobic clusters and were assayed for their ability to inhibit bacterial growth and fungal spore germination. Several peptides are highly active at concentrations between 0,1 and 1 µg/ml against plant pathogenic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas syringae, Pectobacterium carotovorum, and Xanthomonas vesicatoria. Importantly, no hemolytic activity could be detected for these peptides at concentrations up to 200 µg/ml. Moreover, the peptides are also active after spraying on the plant surface demonstrating a possible way of application. In sum, our designed peptides represent new antimicrobial agents and with the increasing demand for antimicrobial compounds for production of "healthy" food, these peptides might serve as templates for novel antibacterial and antifungal agents.
Department of Environmental Science, Institute of Biochemical Plant Pathology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, München-Neuherberg, Germany. lindermayr@helmholtz-muenchen.de
Benjamin
B
Zeitler
Areli
A
Herrera Diaz
Alexandra
A
Dangel
Martha
M
Thellmann
Helge
H
Meyer
Michael
M
Sattler
Christian
C
Lindermayr
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000382:microbiology; D015195:Drug Design; D006461:Hemolysis / Q000187:drug effects; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000187:drug effects; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000382:microbiology; D011487:Protein Conformation
D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides