Slezina Marina P, Kulakovskaya Ekaterina V, Istomina Ekaterina A, Abashina Tatiana N, Odintsova Tatyana I
Vavilov Institute of General Genetics RAS, 119333 Moscow, Russia.
Federal Research Center "Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences", G.K. Skryabin Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms RAS, 142290 Pushchino, Russia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Aug 18;26(16):7959. doi: 10.3390/ijms26167959.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are the promising candidates for the development of next-generation antimicrobials for agriculture and medicine; however, their large-scale production is costly. The γ-core motif peptides, functionally significant fragments of AMPs responsible for the antimicrobial activity, provide a more economical and feasible approach for the commercial development of novel antimicrobials. In the present work, we undertook a comprehensive study of antimicrobial properties of several γ-core peptides derived from defensins and snakins of , a medicinal plant known for its valuable pharmacological properties. The γ-core peptides were produced by solid-phase synthesis and purified by RP-HPLC. Their physicochemical properties underlying biological activity were predicted. All the peptides ranging in size from 14 to 18 amino acid residues were positively charged. All peptides except one were predicted to be α-helical and antimicrobial. The synthetic peptides were in vitro tested against a wide panel of plant and human fungal and bacterial pathogens. A short overview of the pathogens used in antimicrobial assays with a special emphasis on their economic, social, and medicinal impacts is provided. As a result of our work, we identified the peptides with pronounced activity in low-micromolar range against particular pathogens that can serve as prototypes for the development of novel biopesticides and antimicrobials for medicine. We also revealed synergism of action between particular γ-core peptide pairs and demonstrated that interference with membrane permeabilization contributes to the peptides' mode of action. The results obtained broaden our understanding of plant AMPs, the key players in plant immunity, and provide novel highly efficient peptides with high potential in practical applications.
抗菌肽（AMPs）是农业和医学领域下一代抗菌剂开发的有前景的候选物；然而，它们的大规模生产成本高昂。γ-核心基序肽是负责抗菌活性的AMPs功能重要片段，为新型抗菌剂的商业开发提供了一种更经济可行的方法。在本研究中，我们对几种源自防御素和蛇菌素的γ-核心肽的抗菌特性进行了全面研究，蛇菌素是一种以其宝贵药理特性而闻名的药用植物。γ-核心肽通过固相合成制备，并通过反相高效液相色谱（RP-HPLC）纯化。预测了它们生物活性的理化性质。所有大小在14至18个氨基酸残基之间的肽均带正电荷。除一种肽外，所有肽均被预测为α-螺旋且具有抗菌性。合成肽在体外针对多种植物和人类真菌及细菌病原体进行了测试。提供了抗菌试验中使用的病原体的简短概述，特别强调了它们的经济、社会和医学影响。作为我们工作的结果，我们鉴定出了在低微摩尔范围内对特定病原体具有显著活性的肽，这些肽可作为开发新型生物农药和医学抗菌剂的原型。我们还揭示了特定γ-核心肽对之间的协同作用，并证明对膜通透性的干扰有助于肽的作用方式。获得的结果拓宽了我们对植物AMPs（植物免疫中的关键参与者）的理解，并提供了在实际应用中具有高潜力的新型高效肽。
