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Comparative Hessian Fly Larval Transcriptomics Provides Novel Insight into Host and Nonhost Resistance. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms222111498. [PMID: 34768928 PMCID: PMC8583952 DOI: 10.3390/ijms222111498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2021] [Revised: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The Hessian fly is a destructive pest of wheat. Employing additional molecular strategies can complement wheat's native insect resistance. However, this requires functional characterization of Hessian-fly-responsive genes, which is challenging because of wheat genome complexity. The diploid Brachypodium distachyon (Bd) exhibits nonhost resistance to Hessian fly and displays phenotypic/molecular responses intermediate between resistant and susceptible host wheat, offering a surrogate genome for gene characterization. Here, we compared the transcriptomes of Biotype L larvae residing on resistant/susceptible wheat, and nonhost Bd plants. Larvae from susceptible wheat and nonhost Bd plants revealed similar molecular responses that were distinct from avirulent larval responses on resistant wheat. Secreted salivary gland proteins were strongly up-regulated in all larvae. Genes from various biological pathways and molecular processes were up-regulated in larvae from both susceptible wheat and nonhost Bd plants. However, Bd larval expression levels were intermediate between larvae from susceptible and resistant wheat. Most genes were down-regulated or unchanged in avirulent larvae, correlating with their inability to establish feeding sites and dying within 4-5 days after egg-hatch. Decreased gene expression in Bd larvae, compared to ones on susceptible wheat, potentially led to developmentally delayed 2nd-instars, followed by eventually succumbing to nonhost resistance defense mechanisms.
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Costa LSM, Pires ÁS, Damaceno NB, Rigueiras PO, Maximiano MR, Franco OL, Porto WF. In silico characterization of class II plant defensins from Arabidopsis thaliana. PHYTOCHEMISTRY 2020; 179:112511. [PMID: 32931963 DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.112511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Defensins comprise a polyphyletic group of multifunctional defense peptides. Cis-defensins, also known as cysteine stabilized αβ (CSαβ) defensins, are one of the most ancient defense peptide families. In plants, these peptides have been divided into two classes, according to their precursor organization. Class I defensins are composed of the signal peptide and the mature sequence, while class II defensins have an additional C-terminal prodomain, which is proteolytically cleaved. Class II defensins have been described in Solanaceae and Poaceae species, indicating this class could be spread among all flowering plants. Here, a search by regular expression (RegEx) was applied to the Arabidopsis thaliana proteome, a model plant with more than 300 predicted defensin genes. Two sequences were identified, A7REG2 and A7REG4, which have a typical plant defensin structure and an additional C-terminal prodomain. TraVA database indicated they are expressed in flower, ovules and seeds, and being duplicated genes, this indicates they could be a result of a subfunctionalization process. The presence of class II defensin sequences in Brassicaceae and Solanaceae and evolutionary distance between them suggest class II defensins may be present in other eudicots. Discovery of class II defensins in other plants could shed some light on flower, ovules and seed physiology, as this class is expressed in these locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura S M Costa
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil; Departamento de Biologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil
| | - Állan S Pires
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Neila B Damaceno
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Pietra O Rigueiras
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Mariana R Maximiano
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Octavio L Franco
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil; Departamento de Biologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitário, Juiz de Fora, MG, Brazil; S-Inova Biotech, Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil
| | - William F Porto
- S-Inova Biotech, Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil; Porto Reports, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
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Pires ÁS, Rigueiras PO, Dohms SM, Porto WF, Franco OL. Structure-guided identification of antimicrobial peptides in the spathe transcriptome of the non-model plant, arum lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica
). Chem Biol Drug Des 2019; 93:1265-1275. [DOI: 10.1111/cbdd.13498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 12/29/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Állan S. Pires
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas; Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica de Brasília; Brasília Brazil
| | - Pietra O. Rigueiras
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas; Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica de Brasília; Brasília Brazil
| | - Stephan M. Dohms
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas; Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica de Brasília; Brasília Brazil
| | - William F. Porto
- Porto Reports; Brasília Brazil
- S-Inova Biotech; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica Dom Bosco; Campo Grande Brazil
| | - Octavio L. Franco
- Centro de Análises Proteômicas e Bioquímicas; Pós-Graduação em Ciências Genômicas e Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica de Brasília; Brasília Brazil
- S-Inova Biotech; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica Dom Bosco; Campo Grande Brazil
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Franzoi M, Sturlese M, Bellanda M, Mammi S. A molecular dynamics strategy for CSαβ peptides disulfide-assisted model refinement. J Biomol Struct Dyn 2017; 35:2736-2744. [PMID: 27581488 DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2016.1231081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Many cysteine-stabilized antimicrobial peptides from a variety of living organisms could be good candidates for the development of anti-infective agents. In the absence of experimentally obtained structural data, peptide modeling is an essential tool for understanding structure-activity relationships and for optimizing the bioactive moieties. Focusing on cysteine-rich peptide structures, we reproduced the case of structure predictions in the so-called midnight zone. We developed our protocol on a training set derived by clustering the available cysteine-stabilized αβ (CSαβ) structures in nine different representative families and tested it on peptides randomly selected from each family. Starting from draft models, we tested a structure-based disulfide predictor and we used cysteine distances as constraints during molecular dynamics. Finally, we proposed an analysis for final structure selection. Accordingly, we obtained a mean root mean square deviation improvement of 21% for the test set. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to predict the network of disulfide bridges in cysteine-stabilized peptides and to use this result to improve the accuracy of structural predictions. Finally, we applied the methods to predict the structure of royalisin, a cysteine-rich peptide with unknown structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Franzoi
- a Department of Biology , University of Padova , Via Ugo Bassi 58/B, Padova 35131 , Italy
| | - Mattia Sturlese
- b Molecular Modeling Section (MMS), Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences , University of Padova , Via Marzolo 5, Padova 35131 , Italy
| | - Massimo Bellanda
- c Department of Chemical Sciences , University of Padova , Via Marzolo 1, Padova 35131 , Italy
| | - Stefano Mammi
- c Department of Chemical Sciences , University of Padova , Via Marzolo 1, Padova 35131 , Italy
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Porto W, Pires A, Franco O. Computational tools for exploring sequence databases as a resource for antimicrobial peptides. Biotechnol Adv 2017; 35:337-349. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2017.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Revised: 01/12/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
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Porto WF, Nolasco DO, Pires ÁS, Pereira RW, Franco OL, Alencar SA. Prediction of the impact of coding missense and nonsense single nucleotide polymorphisms on HD5 and HBD1 antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. Biopolymers 2017; 106:633-44. [PMID: 27160989 DOI: 10.1002/bip.22866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Revised: 03/14/2016] [Accepted: 04/26/2016] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Defensins confer host defense against microorganisms and are important for human health. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in defensin gene-coding regions could lead to less active variants. Using SNP data available at the dbSNP database and frequency information from the 1000 Genomes Project, two DEFA5 (L26I and R13H) and eight DEFB1 (C35S, K31T, K33R, R29G, V06I, C12Y, Y28* and C05*) missense and nonsense SNPs that are located within mature regions of the coded defensins were retrieved. Such SNPs are rare and population restricted. In order to assess their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli, two linear regression models were used from a previous work, which models the antibacterial activity as a function of solvation potential energy, using molecular dynamics data. Regarding only the antibacterial predictions, for HD5, no biological differences between wild-type and its variants were observed; while for HBD1, the results suggest that the R29G, K31T, Y28* and C05* variants could be less active than the wild-type one. The data here reported could lead to a substantial improvement in knowledge about the impact of missense SNPs in human defensins and their world distribution. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Pept Sci) 106: 633-644, 2016.
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Affiliation(s)
- William F Porto
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.,Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Diego O Nolasco
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.,Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
| | - Állan S Pires
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil.,Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Rinaldo W Pereira
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
| | - Octávio L Franco
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. .,Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil. .,S-Inova Biotech, Pos-Graduação Em Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
| | - Sérgio A Alencar
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia, Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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Porto WF, Miranda VJ, Pinto MFS, Dohms SM, Franco OL. High-performance computational analysis and peptide screening from databases of cyclotides from poaceae. Biopolymers 2017; 106:109-18. [PMID: 26572696 DOI: 10.1002/bip.22771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2015] [Revised: 10/21/2015] [Accepted: 11/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Cyclotides are a family of head-to-tail cyclized peptides containing three conserved disulfide bonds, in a structural scaffold also known as a cyclic cysteine knot. Due to the high degree of cysteine conservation, novel members from this peptide family can be identified in protein databases through a search through regular expression (REGEX). In this work, six novel cyclotide-like precursors from the Poaceae were identified from NCBI's non-redundant protein database by the use of REGEX. Two out of six sequences (named Zea mays L and M) showed an Asp residue in the C-terminal, which indicated that they could be cyclic. Gene expression in maize tissues was investigated, showing that the previously described cyclotide-like Z. mays J is expressed in the roots. According to molecular dynamics, the structure of Z. mays J seems to be stable, despite the putative absence of cyclization. As regards cyclotide evolution, it was hypothesized that this is an outcome from convergent evolution and/or horizontal gene transfer. The results showed that peptide screening from databases should be performed periodically in order to include novel sequences, which are deposited as the databases grow. Indeed, the advances in computational and experimental methods will together help to answer key questions and reach new horizons in defense-related peptide identification.
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Affiliation(s)
- William F Porto
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil
| | - Vivian J Miranda
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil
| | - Michelle F S Pinto
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil
| | - Stephan M Dohms
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil
| | - Octavio L Franco
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia Universidade Católica De Brasília, Brasília-DF, Brazil.,S-Inova Biotech, Pos Graduação em Biotecnologia, Universidade Catolica Dom Bosco, Campo Grande MS, Brazil
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Xu XX, Zhang YQ, Freed S, Yu J, Gao YF, Wang S, Ouyang LN, Ju WY, Jin FL. An anionic defensin from Plutella xylostella with potential activity against Bacillus thuringiensis. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2016; 106:790-800. [PMID: 27443911 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485316000596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Insect defensins, are cationic peptides that play an important role in immunity against microbial infection. In the present study, an anionic defensin from Plutella xylostella, (designated as PxDef) was first cloned and characterized. Amino acid sequence analysis showed that the mature peptide owned characteristic six-cysteine motifs with predicted isoelectric point of 5.57, indicating an anionic defensin. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that PxDef was significantly induced in epidermis, fat body, midgut and hemocytes after injection of heat-inactivated Bacillus thuringiensis, while such an induction was delayed by the injection of live B. thuringiensis in the 4th instar larvae of P. xylostella. Knocking down the expression of nuclear transcription factor Dorsal in P. xylostella by RNA interference significantly decreased the mRNA level of PxDef, and increased the sensitivity of P. xylostella larvae to the infection by live B. thuringiensis. The purified recombinant mature peptide (PxDef) showed higher activity against Gram-positive bacteria, with the minimum inhibition concentrations of 1.6 and 2.6 µM against B. thuringiensis and Bacillus subtilis, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report about an anionic PxDef, which may play an important role in the immune system of P. xylostella against B. thuringiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- X-X Xu
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - Y-Q Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - S Freed
- Department of Entomology,Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technology,Bahauddin Zakariya University,Multan 60800,Pakistan
| | - J Yu
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - Y-F Gao
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - S Wang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - L-N Ouyang
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - W-Y Ju
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
| | - F-L Jin
- Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application of Guangdong Province,College of Agriculture, South China Agricultural University,Guangzhou 510642,P. R. China
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Porto WF, Nolasco DO, Pires ÁS, Fernandes GR, Franco OL, Alencar SA. HD5 and HBD1 variants’ solvation potential energy correlates with their antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli. Biopolymers 2016; 106:43-50. [DOI: 10.1002/bip.22763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2015] [Revised: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- William F. Porto
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
| | - Diego O. Nolasco
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
- Curso De Física; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília DF Brazil
| | - Állan S. Pires
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
| | - Gabriel R. Fernandes
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
| | - Octávio L. Franco
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
- Centro De Análises Proteômicas E Bioquímicas, Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
- S-Inova Biotech; Pos Graduação em Biotecnologia; Universidade Catolica Dom Bosco; Campo Grande Campo Grande Brazil
| | - Sérgio A. Alencar
- Programa De Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Genômicas E Biotecnologia; Universidade Católica De Brasília; Brasília- DF Brazil
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Antibacterial products of marine organisms. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 2015; 99:4145-73. [PMID: 25874533 DOI: 10.1007/s00253-015-6553-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2014] [Revised: 03/17/2015] [Accepted: 03/19/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Marine organisms comprising microbes, plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates elaborate an impressive array of structurally diverse antimicrobial products ranging from small cyclic compounds to macromolecules such as proteins. Some of these biomolecules originate directly from marine animals while others arise from microbes associated with the animals. It is noteworthy that some of the biomolecules referred to above are structurally unique while others belong to known classes of compounds, peptides, and proteins. Some of the antibacterial agents are more active against Gram-positive bacteria while others have higher effectiveness on Gram-negative bacteria. Some are efficacious against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and against drug-resistant strains as well. The mechanism of antibacterial action of a large number of the chemically identified antibacterial agents, possible synergism with currently used antibiotics, and the issue of possible toxicity on mammalian cells and tissues await elucidation. The structural characteristics pivotal to antibacterial activity have been ascertained in only a few studies. Demonstration of efficacy of the antibacterial agents in animal models of bacterial infection is highly desirable. Structural characterization of the active principles present in aqueous and organic extracts of marine organisms with reportedly antibacterial activity would be desirable.
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