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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Advances in Antimicrobial Peptide Engineering
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Advances in Antimicrobial Peptide Engineering

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Antimicrobial Agents and Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 5828

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Paula A. C. Gomes

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
LAQV-REQUIMTE, Departamento de Química e Bioquímica, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
Interests: anti-infective agents; antimicrobial peptides; antiparasitic drugs; drug rescuing and repurposing; peptide-grafted materials; peptide synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. José Rafael De Almeida

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biomolecules Discovery Group, Universidad Regional Amazónica Ikiam, Km 8 Via Muyuna, Tena 150101, Ecuador
Interests: peptides; venomics; snake venom; toxins; anti-infective agents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The golden age of antibiotics is threatened by the rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The significant reduction in last-resort drugs highlights a relevant need to develop a new generation of antimicrobial agents. Peptide-based therapeutics constitute a promising alternative for use in the future post-antibiotic period. The amino acid alphabet produces a rich collection of biologically active peptides, which may be purified from natural sources, such as animal venoms, marine organisms, and plants and skin secretions, or synthesized by chemical and recombinant DNA-based approaches. The clinical translation of peptides is a challenge that has been faced by multidisciplinary approaches and modern technologies. Large-scale peptidomics, in vitro high-throughput screening, and computational strategies have opened up promising avenues for the therapeutic application of peptides as antibiotics. As a result, some antimicrobial sequences have been discovered, predicted, synthesized, evaluated, and integrated into the list of FDA-approved drugs. Additionally, structural modifications of amino acid sequences, peptide-drug conjugates, and mimetic peptides have emerged as possible routes to improve their potential, safety, and stability. With this in mind, the present Special Issue aims to present several contributions, from reviews to original articles, addressing all aspects related to the discovery, screening, bioengineering, and structural characterization of natural and synthetic peptides. Manuscripts regarding the development of peptide conjugates and peptide mimetics will also be taken into consideration.

Dr. Paula A. C. Gomes
Dr. José Rafael De Almeida
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • AMP conjugates
  • high-throughput screening
  • hybrid peptides
  • in silico approach
  • machine learning
  • peptide analogues
  • peptide-based therapies
  • peptide design strategy

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1162 KiB  
Article
Efficacy of Trichoderma longibrachiatum Trichogin GA IV Peptaibol analogs against the Black Rot Pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and other Phytopathogenic Bacteria
by Rocco Caracciolo, Luca Sella, Marta De Zotti, Angela Bolzonello, Marco Armellin, Livio Trainotti, Francesco Favaron and Silvio Tundo
Microorganisms 2023, 11(2), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020480 - 14 Feb 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1589
Abstract
Black rot caused by the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) is considered one of the most destructive diseases affecting crucifers. Xcc is a seedborne pathogen able to infect the host at any growth stage. The management of the pathogen mainly [...] Read more.
Black rot caused by the Gram-negative bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) is considered one of the most destructive diseases affecting crucifers. Xcc is a seedborne pathogen able to infect the host at any growth stage. The management of the pathogen mainly relies on the use of copper-based products with possible negative effects on human health and the environment. Searching for protection alternatives is crucial for achieving a sustainable management of Xcc. Trichoderma spp. has been largely used as a biocontrol agent against several phytopathogens. Among Trichoderma species, Trichoderma longibrachiatum produces the peptaibol trichogin GA IV, a secondary metabolite with antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, as well as filamentous and yeast-like fungi. In this work, we tested, at micromolar concentrations, 25 synthetic analogs of the peptaibol trichogin GA IV for their bacteriostatic and bactericidal activity toward the bacterium Xcc. One of the most effective peptides (4r) was also tested against the Gram-negative bacteria Xanthomonas arboricola, Pseudomonas corrugata, Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. savastanoi, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Erwinia carotovora subsp. carotovora, as well as the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The peptide 4r reduced black rot symptoms on cauliflower plants when administered both before and 24 h after inoculation with Xcc. The cytotoxic activity of the peptide 4r was also evaluated towards suspensions of tobacco cells by Evans Blue assay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial Peptide Engineering)
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15 pages, 1352 KiB  
Article
The Anti-Amoebic Activity of a Peptidomimetic against Acanthamoeba castellanii
by Hari Kumar Peguda, Nicole A. Carnt, Zi Gu, Naresh Kumar, Mark D. P. Willcox and Rajesh Kuppusamy
Microorganisms 2022, 10(12), 2377; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms10122377 - 30 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1622
Abstract
Acanthamoeba is a free-living protozoan known to cause keratitis most commonly, especially among contact lens wearers. Treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis is challenging as Acanthamoeba can encyst from the active form, a trophozoite, into a hibernating cyst that is refractory to antibiotics and difficult [...] Read more.
Acanthamoeba is a free-living protozoan known to cause keratitis most commonly, especially among contact lens wearers. Treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis is challenging as Acanthamoeba can encyst from the active form, a trophozoite, into a hibernating cyst that is refractory to antibiotics and difficult to kill; therefore, there is a need for more effective anti-amoebic strategies. In this study, we have evaluated the anti-amoebic activity of the antimicrobial peptide mimic RK-758 against Acanthamoeba castellanii. RK-758 peptidomimetic was subjected to biological assays to investigate its amoebicidal, amoebistatic, anti-encystation, and anti-excystation effects on A. castellanii. The anti-amoebic activity of the peptide mimic RK-758 was compared with chlorhexidine against the Acanthamoeba castellanii ATCC30868 and Acanthamoeba castellanii 044 (a clinical strain) with the concentrations of both ranging from 125 µM down to 7.81 µM. All experiments were performed in duplicate with three independent replicates. The data were represented as mean ± SE and analysed using a two-sample t-test and two-tailed distributions. A p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The peptidomimetic RK-758 had anti-Acanthamoeba activity against both trophozoites and cysts in a dose-dependent manner. The RK-758 had amoebicidal and growth inhibitory activities of ≥50% at a concentration between 125 µM and 15.6 µM against the trophozoites of both Acanthamoeba strains. Inhibitory effects on the cyst formation and trophozoite re-emergence from cysts were noted at similar concentrations. Chlorhexidine had 50% activity at 7.81 µM and above against the trophozoites and cysts of both strains. In the haemolysis assay, the RK-758 lysed horse RBCs at concentrations greater than 50 µM whereas lysis occurred at concentrations greater than 125 µM for the chlorhexidine. The peptidomimetic RK-758, therefore, has activity against both the trophozoite and cyst forms of Acanthamoeba and has the potential to be further developed as an anti-microbial agent against Acanthamoeba. RK-758 may also have use as an anti-amoebic disinfectant in contact lens solutions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Antimicrobial Peptide Engineering)
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