title: Antifungal plant defensins: mechanisms of action and production.
abstract: Plant defensins are small, cysteine-rich peptides that possess biological activity towards a broad range of organisms. Their activity is primarily directed against fungi, but bactericidal and insecticidal actions have also been reported. The mode of action of various antifungal plant defensins has been studied extensively during the last decades and several of their fungal targets have been identified to date. This review summarizes the mechanism of action of well-characterized antifungal plant defensins, including RsAFP2, MsDef1, MtDef4, NaD1 and Psd1, and points out the variety by which antifungal plant defensins affect microbial cell viability. Furthermore, this review summarizes production routes for plant defensins, either via heterologous expression or chemical synthesis. As plant defensins are generally considered non-toxic for plant and mammalian cells, they are regarded as attractive candidates for further development into novel antimicrobial agents.
authors.affiliation: Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, Heverlee 3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vriens
authors.affiliation: Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, Heverlee 3001, Belgium. bruno.cammue@biw.vib-kuleuven.be.
authors.forename: Bruno P A
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Cammue
authors.affiliation: Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 20, Heverlee 3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thevissen
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D001203:Ascomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D023082:Defensins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D050296:Microbial Viability; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D010944:Plants / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D023082:Defensins; D010940:Plant Proteins