title: Antimicrobial Peptides from Fruits and Their Potential Use as Biotechnological Tools-A Review and Outlook.
abstract: Bacterial resistance is a major threat to plant crops, animals and human health, and over the years this situation has increasingly spread worldwide. Due to their many bioactive compounds, plants are promising sources of antimicrobial compounds that can potentially be used in the treatment of infections caused by microorganisms. As well as stem, flowers and leaves, fruits have an efficient defense mechanism against pests and pathogens, besides presenting nutritional and functional properties due to their multifunctional molecules. Among such compounds, the antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) feature different antimicrobials that are capable of disrupting the microbial membrane and of acting in binding to intra-cytoplasmic targets of microorganisms. They are therefore capable of controlling or halting the growth of microorganisms. In summary, this review describes the major classes of AMPs found in fruits, their possible use as biotechnological tools and prospects for the pharmaceutical industry and agribusiness.
authors.affiliation: S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco Campo Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Meneguetti
authors.affiliation: S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco Campo Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro Dos Santos
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco Campo Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Karen G N
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Oshiro
authors.affiliation: Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco Campo Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Micaella L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Nogueira
authors.affiliation: S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom BoscoCampo Grande, Brazil; Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Católica Dom BoscoCampo Grande, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristiano M E
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: S-Inova Biotech, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom BoscoCampo Grande, Brazil; Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Católica Dom BoscoCampo Grande, Brazil; Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de BrasíliaBrasília, Brazil.
authors.forename: Octávio L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Franco
keywords: antimicrobial peptides; biotechnological potential; fruits; infections; microorganisms