Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(4), 1213-1262; doi:10.3390/md8041213
Review

Conventional and Unconventional Antimicrobials from Fish, Marine Invertebrates and Micro-algae

Valerie J. Smith 1,* email, Andrew P. Desbois 2  and Elisabeth A. Dyrynda 3
1 Scottish Oceans Institute, formerly the Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 8LB, Scotland, UK 2 Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, KY16 9ST, Scotland, UK 3 Centre for Marine Biodiversity and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Heriot Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS, Scotland, UK
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 8 February 2010; in revised form: 2 April 2010 / Accepted: 12 April 2010 / Published: 14 April 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Anti-infective Agents)
PDF Full-text Download PDF Full-Text [531 KB, Updated Version, uploaded 15 April 2010 08:43 CEST]
The original version is still available [742 KB, uploaded 14 April 2010 12:06 CEST]
Abstract: All eukaryotic organisms, single-celled or multi-cellular, produce a diverse array of natural anti-infective agents that, in addition to conventional antimicrobial peptides, also include proteins and other molecules often not regarded as part of the innate defences. Examples range from histones, fatty acids, and other structural components of cells to pigments and regulatory proteins. These probably represent very ancient defence factors that have been re-used in new ways during evolution. This review discusses the nature, biological role in host protection and potential biotechnological uses of some of these compounds, focusing on those from fish, marine invertebrates and marine micro-algae.
Keywords: amphipathicity; antimicrobial peptides; fatty acids; innate defence; pigments

Article Statistics

Click here to load and display the download statistics.

Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

Smith, V.J.; Desbois, A.P.; Dyrynda, E.A. Conventional and Unconventional Antimicrobials from Fish, Marine Invertebrates and Micro-algae. Mar. Drugs 2010, 8, 1213-1262.

AMA Style

Smith VJ, Desbois AP, Dyrynda EA. Conventional and Unconventional Antimicrobials from Fish, Marine Invertebrates and Micro-algae. Marine Drugs. 2010; 8(4):1213-1262.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Smith, Valerie J.; Desbois, Andrew P.; Dyrynda, Elisabeth A. 2010. "Conventional and Unconventional Antimicrobials from Fish, Marine Invertebrates and Micro-algae." Mar. Drugs 8, no. 4: 1213-1262.

Mar. Drugs EISSN 1660-3397 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert