Chapters authored
Anti-Microbial Peptides: The Importance of Structure-Function Analysis in the Design of New AMPs
In recent years the rapid emergence of drug resistant microorganisms has become a major health problem worldwide. The number of multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria is in a rapid increase. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new antimicrobial agent that is active against MDR. Among the possible candidates, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) represent a promising alternative. Many AMPs candidates were in clinical development and the Nisin was approved in many food products. Exact mechanism of AMPs action has not been fully elucidated. More comprehensive of the mechanism of action provide a path towards overcoming the toxicity limitation. This chapter is a review that provides an overview of bacterial AMPs named bacteriocin, focusing on their diverse mechanism of action. We develop here the structure–function relationship of many AMPs. A good understanding of AMPS structure–function relationship can helps the scientific in the conception of new active AMPs by the evaluation of the role of each residue and the determination of the essential amino acids for activity. This feature helps the development of the second-generation AMPs with high potential antimicrobial activity and more.
Part of the book: Insights on Antimicrobial Peptides
Probiotics as a Beneficial Modulator of Gut Microbiota and Environmental Stress for Sustainable Mass-Reared Ceratitis capitata
The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (medfly) is a major pest throughout the world and one of the most destructive. Several strategies for controlling this pest have been proposed, including the sterile insect technique (SIT). The SIT’s effectiveness against the medfly is well documented. Sterile medflies, on the other hand, can perform poorly. Reduced mating compatibility and mating competitiveness in the field may be caused by genetic and symbiotic differences between natural and laboratory medfly populations. Probiotic gut symbionts have been shown to facilitate control strategies and improve male medfly fitness. They are equally effective in the live and inactivated forms when administered to medfly adults or larvae. They have been shown to modulate a large set of inducible effector molecules including antimicrobial peptides (AMP) and stress-responsive proteins. The selection procedures of probiotics for their use in the medfly rearing process are reviewed, and other pathways for selection are proposed based on recent in silico studies. This chapter summarizes the most relevant evidence from scientific literature regarding potential applications of probiotics in medfly as an innovative tool for biocontrol, while also shedding light on the spectrum of symbiotic relationships in medfly that may serve as a powerful symbiotic integrative control approach.
Part of the book: Advances in Probiotics for Health and Nutrition