The mammalian gastrointestinal tract is home to a dense community of resident bacteria and
is also exposed to microorganisms from the external environment. The epithelial surface of …

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are natural antibiotics produced by virtually all living
organisms. Typically, AMPs are cationic and amphiphilic and first contacts with target …

Antibiotic resistance is spreading faster than the introduction of new compounds into clinical
practice, causing a public health crisis. Most antibiotics were produced by screening soil …

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are evolutionarily ancient molecules that act as the key
components in the invertebrate innate immunity against invading pathogens. Several AMPs …

Oysters are sessile filter feeders that live in close association with abundant and diverse
communities of microorganisms that form the oyster microbiota. In such an association …

Synthetic peptides are important as drugs and in research. Currently, the method of choice
for producing these compounds is solid-phase peptide synthesis. In this nonspecialist …

Defensins protect human barriers from commensal and pathogenic microorganisms. Human
α-defensin 6 (HD-6) is produced exclusively by small intestinal Paneth cells but, in contrast …

Human α-defensin 5 (HD5) is a 32-residue cysteine-rich host-defense peptide that exhibits
broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity and contributes to innate immunity in the human gut …

Drugs that act more promiscuously provide fewer routes for the emergence of resistant
mutants. This benefit, however, often comes at the cost of serious off-target and dose-limiting …

Defensins are a class of ubiquitously expressed cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAPs) that
play an important role in innate defense. Plant defensins are active against a broad range of …