The Emerging Role of Antimicrobial Peptides in the Agro-Food Sector
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2022) | Viewed by 9209
Special Issue Editors
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
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: antimicrobial agents; antiparasitic agents; computational chemistry; heterocycle chemistry; peptide-based biopesticides; peptide synthesis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The growing relevance of peptides in many areas of industrial and academic R&D is undeniable. After the two previous editions of Special Issues in Molecules devoted to bioactive peptides, namely, “Peptide-Based Drugs and Drug Delivery Systems”, and “Bioactive Peptides – from Therapy to Nutrition”, it is time to bring the emergent role of peptides in the agro-food sector into the spotlight. Antimicrobial peptides are particularly relevant, for their potential role as bio- and eco-friendly alternatives to (i) pesticides used against plant diseases affecting economically relevant crops, (ii) antibiotics used on livestock, and (iii) food preservatives, including those in food casings or coatings.
The continuous need to increase food production to cope with the incessant demographic growth maintains pressure on the intensive use of pesticides, antibiotics, and biocidal preservatives in the agro-food sector; nonetheless, the toll of their use, and also misuse, has been quite heavy, namely, regarding pathogen resistance issues, as well as accumulation of residues in the environment that, especially in the case of pesticides, has been related to mass killings of nonhuman biota, including microbial organisms, fish, amphibians, insects, birds, and small mammals. Moreover, some of the toxins produced by microbial organisms arise from metabolic degradation of pesticides, fertilizers, and other additives, which make food products uneatable or even dangerous. Consequently, application of pesticides and other synthetic biocides is under heavy restrictions and strict regulatory requirements, and there is an increasingly incisive global campaign to search for more natural and biocompatible antimicrobial agents to use in the agro-food sector. Peptides may be of chief importance in this quest. As such, we invite all those working or interested in this particular field of research to contribute to this Special Issue, which will be an up-to-date collection of works, either original or literature reviews, highlighting the relevance of antimicrobial peptides in agriculture and food science and technology.
Prof. Dr. Paula A. C. Gomes
Prof. Dr. Stefania Galdiero
Dr. Cátia Teixeira
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- Antimicrobial peptides
- Crop protection
- Edible coatings and casings
- Food spoilage
- Plant pathogens
